Kentucky listed as a team capable of winning the National Championship this season

Does Mark Pope have a roster good enough to win it all this season?

Mar 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks to his bench during the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mark Pope has a team for the 2026-27 season that has Big Blue Nation very excited. He brought in a very talented transfer portal class featuring superstar shooter Milan Momcilovic, who led Iowa State in scoring last season while shooting 48.7% from three. Other portal additions like Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins have national writers starting to buy into this Kentucky team.

CBS Sports just put out an article listing 25 teams they believe have a shot at winning the National Championship this season, and one of those teams was the Kentucky Wildcats. The reason listed for why the Wildcats have a shot to win it all was the fact that Pope brought in the #3 transfer portal class.

University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope applauds as Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart introduces him to the thousands of fans in Rupp Arena for his press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I think there are a lot of media members who aren’t all that convinced that this team is capable of winning a banner, but in all honesty, we just don’t know yet. Kentucky has a very talented roster, but there is so much upside that it is just hard to know if the Wildcats will be good enough.

It will come down to players like Wilkins, Malachi Moreno, Kam Williams, and many others on this roster hitting their upside. Am I a firm believer that Kentucky is capable of winning it all this season? No, I am not, but at the same time, no one should be able to say that they aren’t. This team has talent from the top to the bottom of this roster, and if it works, Pope will have a very good team.

Kentucky center Malachi Moreno (24) is guarded by Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe (15) during their game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Coach Pope has the wildcard of college basketball this season because this roster could go so many different directions. Adding Momcilovic was really good for the floor of this Kentucky team because he now makes it really tough for the Wildcats to be bad. Now it is all about who is going to step up for Pope’s team and take the Wildcats to the next level. There are multiple candidates for who that guy could be on this team.

This will be a fun season of Kentucky basketball because fans really won’t know what the Wildcats have until they take the floor for the first time. In all honesty, fans won’t know how good this team is going to be until they take the floor against Kansas on November 10th. This game will prove if this team has it or not.

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