Where are Louisville, Kentucky basketball ranked in preseason polls?
Where do Louisville and Kentucky basketball rank in the preseason polls? Here's where the Cardinals and Wildcats stand entering the 2026-27 campaign.
In the preseason college basketball polls released on October 19, Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats found themselves ranked 11th in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. The Wildcats' ranking dropped to 23rd in both polls. Florida emerged as the consensus No. 1 team, with Duke and Illinois rounding out the top five.
This marks the first time in two consecutive seasons that Louisville has started ranked since the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, when they were 13th and 16th, respectively. Kentucky's ranking tied for the worst in coach Mark Pope's tenure. Under new Louisville coach Pat Kelsey, the Cardinals began the season ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, but finished the year at 23rd after a 24-11 record and a loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament's second round.
Kelsey is returning only one scholarship player from his previous roster, alongside eight transfer portal recruits and three freshmen, placing Louisville fifth on the 247Sports national leader board. The 2026-27 season for Louisville is set to begin on October 21 with an exhibition game against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, followed by a dress rehearsal against Mercyhurst on October 28 and the regular season opener against Chattanooga on November 2.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
