Louisville Men's Basketball Ranked No. 11 in 2025-26 Preseason AP Top 25

The Cardinals are heading into year two under head coach Pat Kelsey.

Louie The Cardinal wears glasses to honor head coach Pat Kelsey during their game against Duke at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 8, 2024. | Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With the 2025-26 men's college basketball season just three weeks away, the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll has finally dropped. When the Louisville men's basketball program first takes the floor, they'll have a little number next to their name.

The Cardinals garnered 966 votes in the preseason edition of the AP Top 25, landing at No. 11 in the poll. It's their first time being ranked in the preseason AP Poll since 2019, when they were ranked No. 5 to start the year.

Louisville is one of three ACC teams to crack the AP Poll, joining Duke at No. 6 and North Carolina at No. 25, while NC State and Virginia also received votes. Purdue, Houston, Florida, UConn and St. John's round out the top five, while arch rival Kentucky comes in at No. 9.

Louisville is coming off of a successful year one under head coach Pat Kelsey, going 27-8 overall to win more games than over the previous three seasons combined. The Cardinals' season-opener against South Carolina State is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 3 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Full Associated Press Top 25 Poll (2025-26 Preseason)

*Points in parenthesis - first place votes

1. Purdue (1,485 - 35)
2. Houston (1,459 - 16)
3. Florida (1,382 - 8)
4. UConn (1,299 - 2)
5. St. John's (1,203)
6. Duke (1,123)
7. Michigan (1,084)
8. BYU (1,078)
9. Kentucky (1,056)
10. Texas Tech (1,015)
11. Louisville (966)
12. UCLA (741)
13. Arizona (715)
14. Arkansas (695)
15. Alabama (620)
16. Iowa State (616)
17. Illinois (567)
18. Tennessee (462)
19. Kansas (453)
20. Auburn (424)
21. Gonzaga (387)
22. Michigan State (188)
23. Creighton (158)
24. Wisconsin (136)
25. North Carolina (104)

Others receiving votes:

NC State 101, Oregon 98, San Diego St. 74, Texas 35, Ohio St. 23, Kansas St 13, Mississippi 11, Southern Cal 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise St. 4, Mississippi St. 3, VCU 2, Virginia 2, Saint Mary's 2, Indiana 1, Oklahoma 1, Baylor 1.

(Photo of Louie: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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