Where does Kentucky land in ESPN's July Bracketology update?

The 2025-26 Kentucky Wildcats basketball season was one of the most disappointing in recent history. Mark Pope's second squad suffered injuries to key players and poor performances against top teams on the way to a round two exit from the NCAA Tournament. That makes the upcoming season a big one for Pope and the team.

Kentucky added some big-time talent from the transfer portal, and focused on having playmakers who can the primary ball handlers during the offseason. They also hope to be healthy, and many think this could be Pope's best Wildcats team yet.ESPN's Joe Lunardi seems to agree, to a degree, that Kentucky is improved.

On Tuesday, he released his latest preseason bracketology report, and has the Wildcats as a five seed in the Midwest Region where they would play either Marquette or Clemson in round one. It's an interesting bracket, with teams like the Duke Blue Devils, St. John's, Michigan State, and North Carolina all in the way of a deep run.

A potential second round matchup with Houston would be tough as well.Obviously, it's way too early to make predictions with any expectation of accuracy. However, it's an interesting look into have Kentucky is viewed.

A five seed would mean the Cats didn't have as good a season they would have liked, but it would still be an improvement over last season, and a sign they're moving in the right direction.This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Where does Kentucky land in ESPN's July Bracketology update?