Extremely bold predictions for the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball season

Bold takes for Mark Pope's 2025-26 Kentucky team.
Mar 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks to the media during practice day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Mar 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks to the media during practice day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

In this story:


Mark Pope has put together a team for the 2025-26 college basketball season that is more than capable of winning a National Title, thanks to all of the elite talent. Not only are the Wildcats talented, but they are also deep. This team is truly 14 players deep.

Knowing the Kentucky roster is this deep, it will be interesting to see who ends up cracking the starting lineup and who leads the Wildcats in all of the important statistical categories.

Knowing how good Pope's team is going to be for the 2025-26 season, let's take a look at three bold predictions.

Three bold predictions for the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball season

Jaland Lowe will lead Kentucky in scoring

Jaland Lowe
Feb 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) dribbles in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Early in the summer, there has been one player who has quickly turned heads for the Kentucky Wildcats, and that is point guard Jaland Lowe. Last season at Pitt, Lowe averaged a very inefficient 16.8 points per game to lead the Panthers in scoring. Now, Kentucky fans are wondering what he will average for Pope's team.

While Lowe was inefficient last season from the field, he is an elite scorer, and he has a real shot to dethrone Otega Oweh as the leading scorer for this team. This is not to say Oweh will have a bad season, this just means that more open looks for Lowe could lead to him scoring a lot for this team.

Jayden Quaintance will be an All-American

JQ
ASU center Jayden Quaintance (21) reacts after his fifth foul against Iowa State during a game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Jan. 25, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The player that every member of Big Blue Nation is excited to see suit up is Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance. He is coming off an ACL tear, but the recovery is going well, and it sounds like he is back on the floor in some capacity.

If Quaintance is ready for game one or doesn't miss much time, he has a real shot to be an All-American. He has the capability to average a double-double and lead college hoops in blocks. If he does this, he will be one of the nation's top players.

Kam Williams starts for Kentucky and is an All-SEC selection

Kam Williams
Mar 15, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Tulane Green Wave guard Kam Williams (3) scores a layup against Memphis Tigers guard PJ Haggerty (4) during the second half at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

One wildcard on this Kentucky basketball team is the Tulane transfer Kam Williams. At 6'8 Williams is a sharpshooter who will be elite in a three and D role for the Wildcats.

Williams is still developing the rest of his game, but he has a ton of NBA upside, which is why some mock drafts have him as a first-round pick. There is a world where Williams starts for this team, and if he shoots the ball well, he could be an All-SEC selection.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations


Published | Modified
Andrew Stefaniak
ANDREW STEFANIAK

Andrew Stefaniak is the publisher of Kentucky Wildcats On SI and host of the Wildcats Today Podcast.

Share on XFollow AndrewStefaniak