KU basketball lands another preseason top-25 ranking — though outside the top 15
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas ranks No. 18 in Blue Ribbon's 2025 college basketball preseason poll.
- Four Big 12 teams place ahead of KU, with Houston highest at No. 3 nationally.
- Freshman Darryn Peterson projected newcomer of the year, second-team All-America.
Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 18 in the country in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook’s preseason top 25 poll.
Four Big 12 teams placed ahead of the Jayhawks in the poll, recently released by Blue Ribbon editor/publisher Chris Dortch. Houston is No. 3 overall, followed by No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 16 BYU and No. 17 Iowa State. Arizona is No. 22.
Defending national champion Florida is ranked No. 1 by Blue Ribbon, followed by Purdue, Houston, Duke, UConn, St. John’s, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Louisville in the top 10. Starting at No. 11 is Alabama, followed by UCLA, Auburn, Texas Tech, Arkansas, BYU, Iowa State, KU, Creighton, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Gonzaga, Texas and North Carolina.
KU freshman Darryn Peterson is Blue Ribbon Yearbook’s newcomer of the year, while Purdue senior Braden Smith is projected player of the year.
KU’s Peterson is listed as a second-team All-America selection of the magazine. Kansas State’s PJ Haggerty is preseason fourth team.
ESPN.com’s current preseason top 25 has KU at No. 21 in the country. The Jayhawks have been ranked No. 1 overall in the Associated Press poll the past two seasons.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM.
