KU basketball receives lowest ranking in preseason AP poll since 2008-09 season
Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, which was released Monday.
In the previous two seasons, the Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. KU’s preseason ranking is the lowest since the 2008-09 season, when KU was ranked No. 24.
Kansas has been ranked outside the top 10 in a preseason poll just once since that time (No. 13 in 2011-12). The Jayhawks made the national championship game that season.
Purdue is ranked preseason No. 1. The Boilermakers earned 35 of 61 first-place votes. It’s the first time ever for Purdue to hold that spot in the preseason.
Houston is No. 2, followed by Florida, UConn, St. John’s, Duke, Michigan, BYU, Kentucky and Texas Tech in the top 10.
KU’s roster has seen plenty of turnover from last season. After losing to Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, several Kansas (21-13) players either transferred or graduated.
The Jayhawks bring back just three full-season scholarship players from last year’s roster (Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell, and Flory Bidunga). KU freshman Bryson Tiller rehabbed from injury with the team last year. He joined the squad at semester.
Bidunga was the only player out of that group to play last season.
This season, KU will be led by freshman phenom and projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Darryn Peterson. Alongside him, the Jayhawks added four transfers and brought in four freshmen to round out coach Bill Self’s roster.
This season will mark Self’s 23rd year coaching the Jayhawks.
K-State, Mizzou and Wichita State are not ranked in the preseason top 25. K-State and Mizzou were in the “others receiving votes” category.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 12:50 PM with the headline "KU basketball receives lowest ranking in preseason AP poll since 2008-09 season."
