It’s nearly college football season, which really just means it’s almost college basketball season again. I have updated my pre-season college basketball top 25 rankings. There have been some big roster changes recently and the new rankings reflect that. Read along for the top 25!
College basketball Rosters in flux…
An object in motion stays in motion, and the same applies to college basketball rosters in this era. It is late in the off-season and we are still getting multiple landscape-altering moves. Texas added the No. 1 recruit in the 2027 class, Marcus Spears Jr., who reclassified to play for Sean Miller. UCLA added Nikola Kusturica who could very well be a top-3 pick in 2028. Gonzaga lost Mario Saint-Supery to the Euro League. St. John’s must now adjust to being without Donnie Freeman, who tore his achilles.
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The college basketball landscape has once again shifted, let’s break down how that affects the top end of the sport.
The Top 10
1. Florida
Florida will return four of five starters from last season and three national champions. That is something no other college basketball team in the country can say. A No. 1 seed last season and No. 1 on my top 25, it would take something substantially surprising to knock them from this spot in the pre-season.
2. Duke
Duke has stockpiled talent this off-season like people stockpiled toilet paper in 2020. Jon Scheyer compiled a class of Bryson Howard, Cam Williams, Maxime Meyer, Deron Rippey, Drew Scharnowski, John Blackwell, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Jacob Theodosiou.
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The Blue Devils have three 5-star recruits and the second-ranked class in the country. That youth will be added to returning pieces such as Dame Sarr, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba.
The biggest addition to the team is young superstar prospect Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. “JBB” as the Blue Devils are calling him, is an early leader for the No. 1 overall pick title in the 2028 NBA Draft. He must play two seasons at Duke, a fact that should have everyone on notice.
3. Texas
Sean Miller with NIL resources is a dangerous coach. Texas moves up in my pre-season top-25 after the addition of top recruit Marcus Spears Jr.
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The Longhorns retained impact big man Matas Vokietaitis and then added an all-star transfer class while recruiting two five star high school recruits. Austin Goosby, Bo Ogden, Joe Sterling, Coleman Elkins, Isaiah Johnson, David Punch, Amari Evans, Elyjah Freeman, Mikey Lewis, and Mantas Laurencikas are all newcomers this season. This roster is certainly one of the best in the country.
4. Arizona
The Wildcats are coming off of a Final Four run and will feature one of the best “big threes” in college basketball. Motiejus Krivas, Ivan Kharchenkov and Caleb Holt will have Arizona back at or near the top of the Big 12 again next season.
Holt could be the best freshman in America, Krivas and Kharchenkov will be an elite defensive duo, but how will the other pieces fit? Tommy Lloyd added some steady guard play in transfers Derek Dixon and JJ Mandaquit. The questions lie in Arizona’s depth and supplementary front court pieces.
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The additions of Endurance Aiyamenkhue, Ugnius Jarusevicius, and Evan Otten are all promising but have many question marks in terms of impact in the Big 12 this upcoming season. Maksim Brnovic is the most recent signing and he seems to be a very high-potential player who will be impactful off of Arizona’s bench.
Arizona still does not have a penciled-in starting power forward, and for that reason I cannot have the Wildcats any higher than four.
The ceiling is still Final Four for this team when you look at the talent they have. Not to mention, if Cameron Holmes pops this year with his two-way upside, Arizona could be the monster coming from the Big 12 again.
5. Illinois
Illinois will once again be one of the premier teams in the country this season. Losing Keaton Wagler to the draft is a big deal but they have added young stud guard Quentin Coleman who is coming off a dominant FIBA Americup performance for Team USA. Brad Underwood also retained all his Baltic ballers.
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David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonomir Ivisic all return. Jake Davis and Andrej Stojakovic also return. The transfer addition of Stefan Vaaks should help keep that offense well oiled as well.
I would not begrudge someone for having this team higher on this list. This roster is the real deal.
6. Michigan
Ordinarily, losing your head coach to the NBA late in the off-season would cause players to disperse but not with Michigan. Michigan was able to retain their projected starting five of Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney, Brandon McCoy, JP Estrella and Moustapha Thiam.
Cadeau, McKenney, and McCoy will likely be one of the top guard trios in the country next season and with the two elder players possessing the added confidence of being champions, I back them to maintain an elite level next season.
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The front court will look different compared to the NBA level front court they had last season with Lendeborg, Johnson and Mara. Estrella was one of the more sought-after forwards in the portal and Thiam has the size and skill requisite to help Michigan in the Big 10. Time will tell how that duo meshes on the court.
The Wolverines won’t be the same historically-dominant team they were last season under May, but they will still be a top-10 team and highly competitive.
7. Connecticut
Dan Hurley has quietly had a really strong off-season yet again. Teams like Texas, Florida and Louisville were stealing headlines while the Huskies stole Nik Khamenia from Duke, brought back Braylon Mullins and Jayden Ross, recruited Colben Landrew and Junior County, and added transfers Najai Hines, Oskar Giltay, Nils Machowski, Jaye Nash, Isaiah Shaw and Elmir Dzafic.
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Khamenia and Mullins will be a killer combo for Hurley – two players that perfectly fit his play style and mentality. Silas Demary Jr. is the ideal point guard for this group, as he can do enough of everything for this team.
Connecticut will again be a pain in the side of their opponents this year.
8. Miami
Jai Lucas is building something really fun in Miami. In his first season as the Hurricanes’ head coach, Lucas led the second-best season-to-season turnaround in college basketball history. The Canes’ 26-9 record and a No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament following a 13-5 mark in league play was a 19-win improvement over 2025. Lucas also became the fastest first-time head coach in the conference to reach 20 wins since Bill Guthridge did it at North Carolina in 1998.
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Lucas is building off a strong season with a solid incoming roster. Miami added highly regarded high school prospect Caleb Gaskins in addition to transfers Somto Cyril, Acaden Lewis, DeSean Goode, Quin Berger, Nick Dorn, and Brent Bland. The starting five here is really exciting and balanced.
Everyone should be very high on what Lucas is building and even higher on the noise they could make in the ACC this season.
9. Tennessee
Rick Barnes is winding down his college basketball coaching career and is not going out quietly. Tennessee spent the big bucks this off-season to keep this roster competitive in the SEC after losing Nate Ament to the NBA, JP Estrella to Michigan and Amari Evans to Texas.
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Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris was a top transfer target and had to be lured away from several other elite programs. Harris will be one of the best forwards in the SEC this season. Incoming guards Terrence Hill Jr. and Dai Dai Ames are an electric backcourt duo.
The question marks for me come in the front court, where Tennessee has Miles Rubin and Jalen Haralson.
10. Arkansas
If John Calipari can’t convince multiple S-tier recruits to play for him, then he is no longer John Calipari. Cal has seemingly done it again.
Coming off of the Darius Acuff season where Arkansas made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before falling to the Wildcats, the Razorbacks have reloaded. Four 5-stars are on their way to Fayetteville. JJ Andrews, Abdou Toure, Jordan Smith Jr. and Miikka Muurinen make up one of the more star-studded classes in college basketball. Arkansas also added skilled big man Ilia Frolov and retained perimeter menace Billy Richmond.
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Calipari has enough talent on this roster to be a force this season again with the Razorbacks.
The rest of the college basketball top 25
11. Louisville
12. Houston
13. Michigan State
14. Virginia
15. St.John’s
16. USC
17. Alabama
18. Vanderbilt
19. Missouri
20. Kentucky
21. Gonzaga
22. Kansas
23. UCLA
24. North Carolina
25. Iowa State
For more college basketball and Arizona Wildcats coverage, make sure to tune into the AZ Wildcats Podcast hosted by Damon Fairall and Kevin Thomas. Make sure to follow Kevin Thomas @kevoposts on X and follow the AZ Wildcats Podcast at PHNX_Wildcats.
