The ever-so-common criticism of NCAA basketball during the payment/portal era is perhaps the only thing about the sport that hasn’t changed in the past two decades.
Critics have complained, “We don’t get to know the players” since the NBA Draft age limit was introduced in 2006, which launched the age of the one-and-done talent. It has been exacerbated, though, by the instant eligibility aspect of the transfer portal.
Well, let’s look at AllSportsPeople Preseason Top 25 for the 2025-26 season. Florida which won the the 2025 NCAA Championship, has back three of its five leading scorers and four of the eight who appeared in the title game. Houston, which lost the trophy to the Gators, has three returning starters. Purdue, which nearly knocked off the Cougars in the Sweet 16, has four starters back.
If you don’t know these guys by now, you’ve not been watching college hoops on TV. Which means you probably wouldn’t be reading about these rankings. Which means you certainly do know most or all of them.
Which means you should be very excited about what’s to come in the next five months.
Especially these 25 teams.
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AllSportsPeople College Basketball Preseason Top 25
1. Houston
Coach: Kelvin Sampson
Key returnees: PF Joseph Tugler, SG Emanuel Sharp, PG Milos Uzan
Key additions: C Chris Cenac, SG Isiah Harwell, C Kalifa Sakho, PG Kingston Flemings
2025 finish: 35-5, NCAA finalist
Why they’re here: The Cougars really do resemble a team we might have seen win a championship two decades ago. They’re built around a trio of veterans who’ve performed in the biggest games a collegian can enter – big conference road games like UH’s win at Allen Fieldhouse, the Big 12 title win over Arizona, and Final Four matchups with Duke and Florida – and a group of high-end freshmen who are gifted enough to make an immediate and lasting difference. Now, Sampson is well established for being demanding, even exacting, so transfer Sakho and five-star recruits Cenac and Harwell will need to adjust quickly to the Sampson style. That’s not as much of a shock when there are practices in the summer and fall rather than everyone showing up October 15 and hoping to get better fast.
2. Purdue
Coach: Matt Painter
Key returnees: PG Braden Smith, PF Trey Kaufman-Renn, SG Fletcher Loyer, C Daniel Jacobson, G C.J. Cox, G Gicarri Harris
Key additions: C Oscar Cluff, G Omer Mayer
2025 finish: 24-12, NCAA Sweet 16
Why they’re here: It’s hard to find a team returning more proven collegians than the Boilermakers. Smith and Loyer are approaching their fourth season as starters, and those two and Kaufman-Renn were in the lineup for the 2024 NCAA title game loss to UConn. Smith and TKR are both All-America candidates. And the coaching staff addressed some of the team’s size issues up front by bringing in Cluff as a transfer and waiting for Jacobson to heal from an injury that cost him all last season. Purdue will need to significantly improve on defense – only 53rd in efficiency last season according to KenPom.com – to be a serious contender for the one trophy they’ve yet to win.
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3. Florida
Coach: Todd Golden
Key returnees: PF Alex Condon, F Thomas Haugh, C Rueben Chinyelu, C Micah Handlogten
Key additions: PG Boogie Fland, G Xaivian Lee, SG AJ Brown, SG CJ Ingram
2025 finish: 34-4, NCAA champion
Why they’re here: This obviously is a championship-level frontcourt, because it literally is the frontcourt that claimed last season’s NCAA title. Condon, Chinyelu, Handlogten and Haugh were huge, literally and figuratively, on the run through to the top of the trophy stand. And they’ll be even bigger this season, apparently, as Golden ponders the idea of using Haugh as his primary small forward. With wing Will Richard gone, and with Haugh willing to return when he might have been drafted last year, it seems a prudent experiment; its success will hinge on whether Haugh demonstrates the ability to defend college wings.
The backcourt has excellent components, even if they’re new to the Gators. Fland was an important figure in Arkansas’ run to the Sweet 16, even though he literally returned at the start of March Madness. He and Lee both are capable point guards, so opponents will have to deal with the offense being initiated from multiple directions.
4. Kentucky
Coach: Mark Pope
Key returnees: SF Otega Oweh, C Brandon Garrison, SF Trent Noah, SG Collin Chandler
Key additions: PG Jaland Lowe, SG Denzel Aberdeen, SF Kam Williams, C Jayden Quaintance, F Mouhamed Diabate, G Jasper Johnson
2025 finish: 24-12, NCAA Sweet 16
Why they’re here: Oweh’s decision to return after experimenting with NBA Draft entry – and not being all that far removed from first-round pick material – gives UK a potential All-American who change a game at either end. Lowe’s arrival from Pitt provides a legit, high-level playmaker. And the Quaintance-Garrison combination gives the Wildcats 10 fouls in the post they might not need because these two simply might block anything near the bucket. UK struggled a bit on defense last year, but this group is built to be better there.
5. Connecticut
Coach: Dan Hurley
Key returnees: PF Alex Karaban, SG Solo Ball, C Tarris Reed, F Jaylin Stewart
Key additions: C Eric Reibe, SG Jacob Furphy, SG Braylon Mullins, PG Silas Demary, PG Malachi Smith
2025 finish: 24-11, NCAA second round
Why they’re here: Hurley grew so accustomed to enormous success that last season’s struggle pushed him to consider walking away from the sport. That would have been a shame; Hurley’s one of the best in the game, and one of its most compelling characters. Also, he would have missed the chance to coach this team, which has a lot of what is necessary to contend for still another Huskies championship. (Especially if Karaban advances the way so many expected he would as a junior).
6. Duke
Coach: Jon Scheyer
Key returnees: SG Isaiah Evans, PG Caleb Foster, C Patrick Ngongba, C Maliq Brown
Key additions: PF Cameron Boozer, SF Dame Sarr, SG Cayden Boozer, SF Nikolas Khamenia
2025 finish: 35-4, NCAA Final Four
Why they’re here: It’d be nice if the Blue Devils had a genuine point guard. If they’d had one a year ago, they might have one more championship trophy in their case. Foster is a very capable player, but running the attack is something he’s still trying to learn. He lasted a few games as a soph before Sion James took over. Boozer will challenge for national player of the year honors, and Evans may look like the most improved player in the sport – mostly because the opportunity will be there to show you what he can do.
7. Louisville
Coach: Pat Kelsey
Key returnees: SF J’Vonne Hadley, PF Khani Rooths, PF Kasean Pryor
Key additions: PG Mikel Brown, SG Ryan Conwell, SG Isaac McKneely, SG Kobe Rodgers, C Sananda Fru, SG Adrian Wooley, C Aly Khalifa
2025 finish: 27-8, NCAA first round
Why they’re here: Forgive the Cardinals if they aren’t looking forward to coping with the assessment of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, who last year smacked them with a No. 8 seed – three lines below what the consensus of bracket projections indicated. But, you know, being underseeded is better than the alternative. The Cardinals are one of the most revamped teams in the top 10, but starting with a talent like Brown, who led the United States to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup, is a nice start. There are plenty of long-range shooting options to complement. The question may be how quickly UL comes together, given heighten importance of ACC teams performing well out of conference.
8. Arkansas
Coach: John Calipari
Key returnees: PF Trevon Brazile, SF Karter Knox, SG Billy Richmond, G D.J. Wagner
Key additions: PG Darius Acuff, SG Meleek Thomas, PF Nick Pringle, C Paulo Semedo, PF Malique Ewen
2025 finish: 22-14, NCAA Sweet 16
Why they’re here: The Razorbacks return four players who contributed at least one double-figure scoring game to their surprising Sweet 16 run, which required them to defeat two teams led by Hall of Fame coaches (Bill Self, Rick Pitino). And to that group, they’ve added a couple of five-star, top-15 prospects, Acuff and Thomas, who’ll have a chance to roll through Fayetteville for just a single season. They will miss the steady defensive presence of Jonas Aidoo, but Calipari gathered a number of big-bodied transfers to address that situation with depth. One interesting element to monitor will be how Wagner adapts to the new additions and likely altered role given how nicely he emerged as a point guard in the second half of last season.
9. Kansas
Coach: Bill Self
Key returnees: C Flory Bidunga, SG Melvin Council, G Elmarko Jackson
Key additions: G Darryn Peterson, SF Tre White, SG Jayden Dawson, SG Kohl Rosario, PF Bryson Tiller
2025 finish: 21-13, NCAA first round
Why they’re here: This will be one of Bill Self’s youngest teams, but after a couple of wasted years trying to get winning basketball out of Hunter Dickinson, KU has returned to what their coach does best: developing incoming players (especially perimeter players) toward performing at an elite level. And it helps to start with perhaps the most talented freshman in college hoops. Peterson is a contender to be the 2026 No. 1 overall draft pick.
10. UCLA
Coach: Mick Cronin
Key returnees: PF Tyler Bilodeau, SG Skyy Clark, SF Eric Dailey, SG Trent Perry
Key additions: PG Donovan Dent, C Xavier Booker, SG Jamar Brown, PF Steven Jamerson
2025 finish: 23-11, NCAA second round
Why they’re here: Bringing in Dent to solve the Bruins’ significant point guard issues was massive, and the Bruins might have been looking Final Four good if center Aday Mara hadn’t chosen at the last minute to transfer out. There is much dependability on offense with Bilodeau and Dailey, who both should average double-figure scoring, and Clark could enjoy a breakout season. The biggest difference between very good and something special will be the development of Booker, a gifted athlete who never developed a taste for contact while at Michigan State.
11. Michigan
Coach: Dusty May
Key players: PF Yaxel Lendeborg, PG Elliot Cadeau, SG Nimari Burnett, SG Roddy Gayle, C Aday Mara, PF Morez Johnson, PF Will Tschetter, SG Trey McKenney, G L.J. Cason
2025 finish: 27-10, NCAA Sweet 16
12. St. John’s
Coach: Rick Pitino
Key players: C Zuby Ejiofor, G Ian Jackson, PF Bryce Hopkins, PF Dillon Mitchell, SG Joson Sanon, SG Oziyah Sellers, SG Lefteris Liotopolous, PG Dylan Darling
2025 finish: 31-5, NCAA second round
13. Illinois
Coach: Brad Underwood
Key players: SG Kylan Boswell, C Tomislav Ivisic, PF Ben Humrichous, SF Andrej Stojakovic, PG Mihailo Petrovic, PF David Mirkovic, SF Jake Davis, C Zvonimir Ivisic
2025 finish: 22-13, NCAA second round
14. BYU
Coach: Kevin Young
Key players: SG Richie Saunders, SG Dawson Baker, C Keba Keita, PF Mihailo Boskovic, SF AJ Dybantsa, SG Kennard Davis, PG Nate Pickens, PG Rob Wright, SF Tyler Mrus.
2025 finish: 26-10, NCAA Sweet 16
15. Gonzaga
Coach: Mark Few
Key players: SG Tyon Grant-Foster, C Braden Huff, PF Graham Ike, SF Steele Venters, PG Braeden Smith, SG Mario Saint-Supery, SG Adam Miller
2025 finish: 26-9, NCAA second round
16. Texas Tech
Coach: Grant McCasland
Key players: PF JT Toppin, SG Tyeree Bryan, SF LeJuan Watts, G Christian Anderson, SF Donovan Atwell
2025 finish: 28-9, NCAA Elite Eight
17. Tennessee
Coach: Rick Barnes
Key players: PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie, PF Nate Ament, SF Amari Evans, PF Jaylen Carey, C Felix Okpara, SG Amaree Abram, SG Ethan Burg
2025 finish: 30-8, NCAA Elite Eight
18. Wisconsin
Coach: Greg Gard
Key players: PG John Blackwell, PF Nolan Winter, SG Nick Boyd, PF Aleksas Bieliauskas, PF Austin Rapp, SG Hayden Jones
2025 finish: 27-10, NCAA second round
19. Alabama
Coach: Nate Oats
Key players: PG Labaron Philon, G Aden Holloway, PF Aiden Sherrell, C Noah Williamson, SG Latrell Whitesell, SG Houston Mallette, SG Jalil Bethea
2025 finish: 28-9, NCAA Elite Eight
20. Arizona
Coach: Tommy Lloyd
Key players: PG Jaden Bradley, PF Tobe Awaka, F Ivan Karchenkov, PF Koa Peat, C Motiejus Krivas, PF Sidi Gueye, G Anthony Dell’Orso
2025 finish: 24-13 NCAA Sweet 16
21. Iowa State
Coach: T.J. Otzelberger
Key players: PG Tamin Lipsey, PF Milan Momcilovic, SG Mason Williams, PF Eric Mulder, PF Joshua Jefferson, G Dominick Nelson
2025 finish: 25-10, NCAA second round
22. Creighton
Coach: Greg McDermott
Key players: F Jackson McAndrew, SF Jasen Green, PF Isaac Traudt, C Owen Freeman, SG Josh Dix, C Aleksa Dimitrijevic, PF Kerem Konan, SG Hudson Greer, G Nik Graves, G Blake Harper
2025 finish: 25-11, NCAA second round
23. NC State
Coach: Will Wade
Key players: PF Ven-Allen Lubin, G Alyn Breed, G Tre Holloman, SF Darrion Williams, SG Matt Able, SG Quadir Copeland, PF Musa Sagnia, PF Jerry Deng, SG Terrance Arceneaux
2025 finish: 12-19
24. Oregon
Coach: Dana Altman
Key players: C Nate Bittle, G Jackson Shelstad, PF Efe Vatan, SF Dezdrick Lindsay, SG Takai Simpkins, PF Sean Stewart, SG Wei Lin,
2025 finish: 25-10, NCAA second round
25. North Carolina
Coach: Hubert Davis
Key players: SG Seth Trimble, SF Jarin Stevenson, C Henri Veesaar, SF Caleb Wilson, SG Kyan Evans, SG Jaydon Young, SF Jonathan Powell
2025 finish: 23-14, NCAA first round