New 2026-27 preseason projection poll has Kentucky sitting outside the top 40

Mark Pope‘s Kentucky roster for the 2026-27 season isn’t quite finished just yet, but there aren’t many spots left to fill. Barring a surprise late addition, the core group of players we’ll see this fall in Rupp Arena is already in place.

To say there are differing opinions on just how good the Wildcats will be next season would be an understatement. Kentucky has 12 pieces on board for next season, including center Malachi Moreno, who will test the NBA Draft waters but is expected back in Lexington. Pope brought in a pair of the most talented guards available in the portal this offseason: Zoom Diallo (Washington) and Alex Wilkins (Furman). Those two, plus Moreno, are an incredibly solid foundation to build on. 6-foot-11 forward Ousmane N’Daiye from Senegal could raise the team’s ceiling significantly if he ends up being an immediate impact contributor.

On paper, Kentucky’s depth already looks to be much improved from last season’s injury-plagued situation. The biggest critique is a glaring lack of star power on the wing, exacerbated by missing out on five-star recruit Tyran Stokes. Unless a new international name pops on the scene or someone like Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic opts out of the NBA Draft for another season of college, finding someone to fill that role will be a challenge.

With all that in mind, we’re beginning to see more and more preseason rankings and polls pop up. ESPN did one last week with its usual “Way-Too-Early” Top 25, which Kentucky did not make the cut for. The ‘Cats were not even listed as one of the next five teams that came in just outside of the Top 25.

Then BartTorvik got in on the fun to begin the month, ranking all 365 Division I teams ahead of next season. Kentucky checked in at No. 44 overall with a projected offense that ranked 46th and a projected defense that ranked 50th.

Keep in mind that BartTorvik’s rating does not include N’Diaye (or incoming freshman guard Zyon Hawthorne) as of right now. The site’s analytics project that Kentucky’s top three contributors, in order, will be Diallo, Moreno, and Wilkins. UK is the 12th-best SEC team in these projections, sitting ahead of only LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State — albeit by a wide margin.

Pope still has time to boost his roster, but the early returns from national platforms have not been kind to the Wildcats.