Kentucky football didn’t crack the AP Preseason Top 25 for 2026, but that’s hardly unfamiliar territory in Lexington.
The Wildcats received no votes in the latest preseason poll as they enter a new chapter under first-time head coach Will Stein. Even with plenty of buzz around the program, AP voters left Kentucky out of the rankings. That keeps the Wildcats in the usual lane: unranked most years, with only a handful of preseason appearances scattered across program history.
There have been five of those preseason rankings, and the most recent came in 2022. That group was significant for another reason too - it was the first Kentucky team to show up in the preseason AP poll in 44 years.
Here’s the full list of Kentucky’s five preseason rankings:
In 2022, the Wildcats opened at No. 20 after a 10-win season, a Citrus Bowl win and a school-record fourth straight bowl victory. Mark Stoops’ team came into the year with real momentum, though the season itself finished at 7-6.
The previous appearance came in 1978, when Kentucky was slotted at No. 15 in Fran Curci’s sixth season. The Wildcats had just finished a 10-1 probation season that included wins at LSU and Penn State, but they were barred from postseason play.
They closed 1977 by beating Tennessee in the Border Battle, which helped push them to 419 votes in the 1978 preseason poll. Kentucky then went 4-6-1.
Before that, Kentucky checked in at No. 20 in the 1957 preseason poll. The Wildcats were coming off a 6-4 season in 1956 and a 4-4 mark in SEC play, but they couldn’t build on it in Blaton Collier’s fourth year, finishing 3-7 with just one conference win.
Kentucky’s highest preseason spot came in 1951, when voters put the Wildcats at No. 6 after a national championship season under Bear Bryant. That year followed Kentucky’s 11-1 campaign, capped by a Sugar Bowl win over undefeated Oklahoma and a title claim.
The 1951 preseason poll was also the only time Kentucky has ever received a first-place vote. The Wildcats finished 8-4 and won the Cotton Bowl.
The first time Kentucky ever showed up in the preseason rankings was 1950, when the AP placed the Wildcats at No. 13.
Kentucky climbed as high as No. 3 after a 10-0 start before a loss in Knoxville ended the unbeaten regular season. The Wildcats still finished the year by upsetting AP No.
1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
Kentucky has also received votes in 13 preseason polls overall: 1950, 1951, 1957, 1978, 1990, 2000, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
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Kentuckys QB2 Battle Is Starting To Reveal A Crucial Answer
Will Stein has spent the offseason reshaping Kentuckys quarterback room, bringing in Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey and adding JacQai Long from Marshall as the Wildcats look to sort out the depth chart behind their new starter. After the first fall scrimmage, one name has started to stand out in a competition that has been crowded with fresh faces and open questions, and the early signs suggest the backup job is beginning to take shape.
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Kentucky Is Handling Nic Anderson Carefully For One Big Reason
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Andersons college path has already included quad and knee issues, so the Wildcats are treating his workload as something to manage, not race through. The early camp caution is tied to keeping him available when the games count most, and for Kentucky that balance matters because the ceiling with a healthy Anderson is obvious even if the timeline to get there is being handled patiently. [Read more 🡒]