The Kentucky women’s basketball team will open the season at No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
UConn will open the season at No. 1 with South Carolina coming in at No. 2. UCLA, Texas and LSU round out the top 5.
Here is a press release from UK Athletics:
LEXINGOTN, Ky. – Kenny Brooks’ University of Kentucky women’s basketball team is ranked 24th in the Preseason Associated Press Top 25, it was announced Tuesday.
It is the 12th time in the past 16 seasons that the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team has earned a preseason ranking from the AP, only missing out on early nods in the falls of 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023.
UK has been ranked in 22 straight AP Polls, a streak that began with the preseason poll in 2024.
The Wildcats opened up as the 22nd team in the preseason AP Poll last season, which wound up being their lowest ranking of the entire season. The Cats were ranked as high as eighth in Week 14, following a 19-2 start and back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in No. 22/22 Alabama and at No. 13/12 Oklahoma.
No. 8 marked the program’s highest ranking in the AP Poll since 2016.
In 2025-26, Kentucky returns 46.7 percent of its scoring and 70.9 percent of its rebounding in just the frontcourt alone.
The Triplets – Clara Strack, Teonni Key and Amelia Hassett – also were a force to be reckoned with on defense, helping the team finish first in the nation in blocks last season (7.0). That trio, who are all returning as upperclassmen, ranked second in the SEC and ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding last season (29.5). UK also ended the regular season as the only team in Division I to have three players averaging at least 8.0 rebounds per game (Strack – 9.7, Key – 8.1, Hassett – 8.0).
Brooks also bolstered the returners on the roster with three all-conference guards and a McDonald’s All-American wing in Kaelyn Carroll.
Kentucky found success with a veteran running point last season, so it added another for 2025-26.
Tonie Morgan, a 5-9 point guard, played the last three seasons at Georgia Tech, appearing in 96 games and making 95 starts. She combined for 1,261 points, 543 rebounds, 468 assists and 116 steals, along the way becoming a three-time, all-conference team talent. Her 4.9 career apg were ranked 12th among active DI players at the conclusion of last season, while she was one of three non-seniors in that top 12.
Morgan, who was projected as the ninth pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft by Women’s Hoops Masterclass, is coming off her junior season, where she averaged 13.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.6 apg and 1.0 spg and shot 48.9% from the field.
Josie Gilvin, a senior from Louisville, Kentucky, transferred from Western Kentucky, where she was recently named to the 2025 All-CUSA Second Team and 2025 All-CUSA Defensive Team. Also, Asia Bone, a junior transfer from Liberty, is a 2025 CUSA All-Tournament Team and 2025 All-CUSA Second Team selection and previously was named the 2024 CUSA Freshman of the Year.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
