How unfortunate to see a preseason top-25 that doesn't include the BYU Cougars, and doubly so when the culprit is ESPN.
The worldwide leader in sports just published the latest edition of their way-too-early top 25 rankings, and according to Jeff Borzello, BYU basketball doesn't quite make the cut.
ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings, July 7, 2026
1. Florida Gators
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Illinois Fighting Illini
4. UConn Huskies
5. Michigan Wolverines
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Texas Longhorns
8. St. John's Red Storm
9. Michigan State Spartans
10. Arizona Wildcats
11. Arkansas Razorbacks
12. USC Trojans
13. Louisville Cardinals
14. Viginia Cavaliers
15. Alabama Crimson Tide
16. Houston cougars
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Miami Hurricanes
19. gonzaga Bulldogs
20. Vanderbilt Commodores
21. Missouri Tigers
22. Nebraska Cornhuskers
23. Kansas Jayhawks
24. Iowa State Cyclones
25. North Carolina Tar Heels
Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for the upcoming college basketball season, via @jeffborzello 👀 pic.twitter.com/kHwnHZGmIe
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) July 6, 2026
The Cougars' absence is curious, considering the top-end talent of players like 5-star point guard Robert Wright III, high school All-American Bruce Branch III, and Collin Chandler. But the void in the center spot has been the mark of death for this team over the offseason and remains the primary point of concern surrounding the program.
BYU basketball has long been known as a guard and wing-led program, where three-point shooting and ball movement have elevated the Cougars to a level greater than the sum of their parts. But as the need for high-end talent climbs to an all-time high with the precedent of the last few seasons. This is a program drawing in NBA talent in Egor Demin, AJ Dybantsa, and Richie Saunders, but last year's failure to establish reliable depth sank the Cougars against more well-rounded power conference opposition.
They dropped to the tenth seed in the Big 12 Conference tournament despite having the future number-one overall pick in the NBA Draft running the show. So I understand when evaluators and analysts see the current construct of Kevin Young's program and hold to some skepticism.
Until the Cougars have a tangible, legitimate starting lineup, don't expect to see BYU appear in many preseason rankings.
Add us as a preferred source on Google