LEXINGTON , Ky . – For the 13th time in 14 seasons under head coach John Calipari , the Kentucky men ’ s basketball team will begin the season among the preseason top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 . The Wildcats were tabbed No . 4 .

North Carolina begins the season as the preseason No . 1 ranked team . Rounding out the top five include Gonzaga , Houston , Kentucky and both Kansas and Baylor finished with the same number of votes for fifth . UK earned two first-place votes .

The full preseason rankings are available via collegebasketball . ap . org .

Calipari has had a team ranked among the top 11 in the preseason poll in all 14 seasons at the helm as voted on by a panel comprised of media members throughout the country . Including this season , Calipari ’ s teams have

been ranked inside the top five 11 times .

Other preseason rankings have the Wildcats ranked No . 1 by KenPom . com , No . 3 by Blue Ribbon magazine , No . 4 by ESPN and No . 4 by CBS Sports . The USA Today Coaches Poll is expected to be released soon .

Eight Kentucky opponents enter the 2022-23 season ranked in the AP Top 25 , including four nonconference opponents in Gonzaga ( No . 2 ), Kansas ( No . 5 ), UCLA ( No . 8 ) and Michigan ( No . 22 ).

In addition to the Wildcats , the other Southeastern Conference programs ranking among the Top 25 to begin the season include Arkansas ( No . 10 ), Tennessee ( No . 11 ), Auburn ( No . 15 ) and Alabama ( No . 20 ). Based on preseason polls , UK will have 10 total matchups in 2022-23 against top-25 opponents .

The Wildcats ’ returning

core is headlined by Oscar Tshiebwe , the reigning National Player of the Year , who led the country with 15.1 rebounds per game and also paced the Cats in scoring at 17.4 points per game . Kentucky will also welcome back Sahvir Wheeler , who led the conference and ranked third in the country with 6.9 assists per game . Forwards Daimion Collins , Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware all were instrumental in helping the Wildcats to a 26-8 record and a No . 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago .

In all , UK is returning 44.3 % of its scoring production , 58.4 % of its rebounding , 50 % of its steals , 51.2 % of its assists and 72.3 % of its blocks from a season ago .

Kentucky also welcomes in five dynamic newcomers , including top-10 signees Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace . Both players were Gatorade State Players of the Year and McDonald ’ s All Americans . Fast-rising prospects Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso inked with the Cats during the late signing period . UK also added one of the top transfers in Antonio Reeves , who ranked among the nation ’ s top 20 individual scorers a season ago at Illinois State averaging 20.1 points per game .

For the latest on the Kentucky men ’ s basketball team , follow @ KentuckyMBB on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and TikTok , and on the web at UKathletics . com .