Kentucky in the Top 15 of two more Way-Too-Early Top 25s

(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

The Way-Too-Early Top 25s continue to roll in for the 2021-22 college basketball season. So far, Kentucky has been in the top 20 of preseason rankings by Aaron Torres and ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Despite the roster uncertainty, Gary Parrish and Jeff Goodman have the Cats even higher in their polls. Parrish ranks the Cats No. 14, while Goodman has Kentucky at No. 15.

“The expected return of Keion Brooks, Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin gives John Calipari a core of three players who averaged at least 14 minutes per game this season,” Parrish writes. “He’ll fill out the roster with a top-five recruiting class and at least two impactful transfers – namely Kellan Grady (Davidson) and Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia).” [CBS Sports]

True to form, Goodman did not mince words about Kentucky’s 2020-21 campaign.

“Last season was a disaster for John Calipari and the ‘Cats. Boston and Clarke didn’t live up to the hype and Askew struggled as a freshman point guard. There are still plenty of unanswered questions with the roster, but Cal has enough guys back that should take a jump, and he’s bringing in another highly rated group of frosh in addition to Tshiebwe, who was a force at times in the paint for West Virginia.” [Watch Stadium]

Like most pundits, Goodman has Gonzaga No. 1 in his rankings, but Parrish has the UCLA Bruins in his top spot, followed by the Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide, who he predicts will win the SEC for the second straight season. Hopefully whatever roster we end up with is good enough to prevent that from happening.

Check out the complete rankings at the links below.

[CBS Sports, Watch Stadium]