Men’s Basketball Slotted at No. 9 in Preseason Coaches’ Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After earning a No. 9 ranking the preseason Associated Press (AP) Top 25 earlier this month, the Kentucky men’s basketball team will hold the same preseason ranking in the first edition of the USA Today Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, announced Wednesday.
Kentucky has flaunted a preseason coaches’ poll ranking 60 times dating back to the inaugural poll in 1950. The Cats have made 977 total appearances in the rankings, which are in their 76th season of existence.
Purdue, UK’s exhibition opponent on Friday, begins the season as the preseason No. 1 in both polls. Rounding out the top five of the coaches’ selections include Houston, Florida, UConn and Duke. The full preseason rankings are available via USA Today.
Top 25 Coaches’ Poll opponents on Kentucky’s schedule this year include Florida (No. 3), St. John’s (No. 6), Louisville (No. 10), Arkansas (No. 15), Alabama (No. 16), Tennessee (No. 17), Gonzaga (No. 20), Michigan State (No. 21), Auburn (No. 22) and North Carolina (No. 25). Vanderbilt, Texas, Missouri and Ole Miss are receiving votes.
Details on regular-season home games for men’s basketball can be found on UKathletics.com, including the launch of Kentucky’s official resale marketplace powered by Ticketmaster. This platform will offer fans a secure way to buy and sell verified tickets, even for games that may be sold out.
Season ticket holders are reminded that exhibition games vs. Purdue and Georgetown are included in their season ticket packages.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats are coming off the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019 and return Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah and Otega Oweh who all contributed to a 24-12 season which featured wins over an NCAA-record-tying eight Associated Press Top 15 foes.
Adding to UK’s firepower in 2025-26 is one of the highest-ranked transfer classes in the country. The Cats will add 2025 National Champion Denzel Aberdeen from Florida; a two-time NCAA Sweet 16 participant in Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate; an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in Pitt’s Jaland Lowe; Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio who is a Lexington native; National Defensive Player of the Year late-season finalist Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State; and Kam Williams from Tulane who earned American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team honors.
The Cats also have four collegiate newcomers in Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavić, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.
The Wildcats will hold their first exhibition contest this Friday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. ET against Purdue. The game will air live on SEC Network. UK opens the regular season inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Nicholls.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
