Last week, the NCAA announced that it would now include Bart Torvik’s rankings on the team sheets used to seed the NCAA Tournament.

That’s good news for Kentucky basketball, who is ranked No. 23 in Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings for the 2024-25 season. Torvik projects the Wildcats to finish the regular season at 20-11 overall and 10-8 in the SEC in new head coach Mark Pope‘s first season. 

Torvik, who projects UK basketball to finish seventh in the SEC, has the Cats as a top-25 team in offensive efficiency with its defense just outside the top 25 at No. 26. 

In a somewhat surprising twist, Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr is projected to lead Kentucky in both scoring (15.5) and rebounding (7.3). Right behind him is BYU transfer and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Jaxson Robinson at 15.3 points per game. Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh is the only other player in double figures at 10.2. West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa is projected to lead the Wildcats in assists per game (3.3) to go alongside 9.4 points per game. 

Kentucky is also ranked No. 23 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 25. 

Since being officially tabbed to replace John Calipari on April 12 and drawing over 20,000 people to his introductory press conference at Rupp Arena, Pope has enjoyed a remarkable first offseason in Lexington. 

Pope hired a staff that features associate head coach Alvin Brooks III from Baylor, former USC assistant Jason Hart of the G League Ignite, former BYU assistant Cody Fueger, former Nevada and Georgia head coach Mark Fox, and former Lamar assistant Mikhail McLean. Pope also brought on BYU assistant Nick Robinson on as his director of basketball operations 

After losing all 13 scholarship players from last season’s roster to graduation, the NBA Draft or the transfer portal, Pope’s inaugural 9-man transfer class is currently ranked No. 4 nationally by 247Sports and features No. 23 Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), No. 34 Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), No. 36 Jaxson Robinson, No. 48 Lamont Butler (San Diego State), No. 71 Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), No. 88 Amari Williams (Drexel), No. 91 Koby Brea (Dayton), No. 126 Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), and No. 319 Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson).

In addition, Pope has also signed former BYU signee Collin Chandler, who is coming off a 2-year Mormon mission, Kentucky Mr. Basketball, the state’s all-time leading scorer and 4-star guard Travis Perry from state champion Lyon County, as well as Harlan County 4-star and former South Carolina signee Trent Noah to bring the Wildcats’ number of scholarship players to 12. 

“We have one assignment and that’s to get No. 9. Everywhere I turn I see the No. 9. That’s all I see,” Pope said. “So, we’re pretty obsessed with that and we’re going to chase it with everything we have. That’s the standard here.”

Kentucky’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule includes Duke at the Champions Classic in Atlanta, at Clemson in the ACC-SEC Challenge, Gonzaga in Seattle, Louisville at Rupp Arena, and Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

In the SEC, the Wildcats will have home games against Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M and road games at Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.