We know Kentucky is going to be good in Mark Pope‘s second season as head coach, but how good? Good enough to be included in Dickie V’s Dazzling Dozen — Dick Vitale’s ranking of the best 12 teams in college basketball going into 2025-26.
The hoops legend wanted to celebrate 150 days from the start of the season by dropping his summer rankings, breaking down the teams “that look ready to rock the hardwood,” as he puts it. The Wildcats belong in that bunch, thanks to the returns of Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison, among others.
“Mark Pope reloads again, folks,” Vitale said of Kentucky. “Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison will be looking to lead an incredible group of transfers including Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe and Mouhamed Dioubate. The Wildcats are roaring loud in Lexington.”
Just how loud are they roaring? Not the loudest in the country — or even the SEC, for that matter — but still pretty darn loud. Kentucky sits at No. 11 in Dickie V’s rankings, good for No. 3 in the conference behind only Florida (No. 3) and Arkansas (No. 8).
Take a look at the complete top 12:
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Houston Cougars
- Florida Gators
- UConn Huskies
- St. John’s Red Storm
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- BYU Cougars
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Duke Blue Devils
- UCLA Bruins
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Michigan Wolverines
Not as high as we’d like, Dick, but we’ll take it at this stage.
Where Kentucky sits in other preseason rankings
- ESPN – No. 9
- “Kentucky is absolutely loaded on the perimeter next season,” Jeff Borzello wrote. “… Mark Pope also revamped the frontcourt with defense in mind.”
- The Athletic – No. 9
- “This roster does not have the shooting of Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team, but it should be better defensively and have more playmaking on the perimeter,” said CJ Moore.
- Sports Illustrated – No. 7
- “Mark Pope has his sights set on more after taking the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in his first year on the job in Lexington, Ky,” Kevin Sweeney added. “The Wildcats spent big on their roster this spring, adding 10 new players, including high-profile transfers Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance while bringing back star wing Otega Oweh.”
- ROTHSTEIN 45 – No. 12
- CBS Sports – No. 12
- “This ranking is based on the Wildcats returning two of the top seven scorers — specifically Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison — from a team that finished 24-12 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament,” Gary Parrish said.
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