The 2025-26 men's college basketball season officially tips off on Monday, Nov. 3. Anticipation is high after a thrilling March Madness tournament last season. Plus, NIL and the transfer portal bring a whole new twist to the college basketball landscape. Elite players are playing on new teams, both after transferring and because the freshman class is filled with stars who will be highly touted ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft. With that said, here are ClutchPoints' top 25 power rankings at the start of the 2025-26 season.
25. Texas
Texas has a new coach, as Sean Miller left Xavier to lead the Longhorns. Expectations for the team in Austin, Texas, now improve greatly, and the team deserves a spot in the top 25 before the start of the season. They will be tested greatly in their first game of the year against Duke, though, and a lot will be made clearer based on how they perform in their opener.
24. Creighton
The loss of Ryan Kalkbrenner to the NBA hurts Creighton's defensive outlook and ability inside on both offense and defense. They still have enough shooting to be viewed as a top 25 team coming into the 2025-26 season, though.
23. Iowa
For the fourth time in his collegiate career, Bennett Stirtz will be following his coach to a new program. Stirtz will do everything for Iowa, and huge box scores should follow. The question is, will the Hawkeyes' supporting cast contribute enough to ensure Iowa stays in the top 25 all season long?
22. Indiana
Indiana didn't have any five-star transfers join their program, but an astonishing eight new four-star college veterans will be joining the team. It isn't clear how all this talent will connect, but there are a lot of new bodies for Darian DeVries to work with. DeVries' squad should figure things out sooner rather than later.
21. Michigan State
Michigan State might not have a super high ceiling in 2025-26, but they should be good enough to win a lot of games and compete against anybody on a night-to-night basis. Tom Izzo's team always plays with intensity, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Jeremy Fears and Jaxon Kohler are back in East Lansing.
20. Arkansas
D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox weren't as impressive in their first year with Arkansas as expected, but both former elite recruits still have tons of potential. If they don't live up to their promise, Arkansas likely won't be a top 25 team, but if they become the stars that they are destined to be, the Razorbacks could soar up these power rankings throughout the course of the season.
19. Kansas
AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer have received a lot of attention as prospective number one picks, but Kansas' Darryn Peterson has surpassed both in the eyes of many. Peterson will get to work on both ends of the floor right away for the Jayhawks. With Peterson's point-of-attack defense and Flory Bidunga's rim protection, Kansas will be tough to score on every night.
18. Kansas State
PJ Haggerty was one of the best players to switch teams in the offseason. The ex-Memphis guard will now suit up for Kansas State, and he drastically improves their 2025-26 outlook. The expectation is that Haggerty produces much more than Coleman Hawkins did last year. Hawkins was the Wildcats' last big-ticket transfer portal get.
17. Alabama
Alabama is no longer just a football school. Nate Oats makes the Crimson Tides' basketball program a perennially elite one. Alabama, as per usual, should once again work great in transition and make a lot of 3-point shots. Labaron Philon is the leader of the team who does both of those things very well.
16. Tennessee
Boozer, Dybantsa, and Peterson are the freshmen currently in the running for the number one pick, but Nate Ament deserves a lot of credit as an elite draft prospect, too. If the future lottery pick can burst onto the scene right away to become a great co-star for Ja'Kobi Gillespie, then Tennessee can exceed all expectations.
15. UCLA
More on Texas Tech's JT Toppin in a second, but the forward developed in a big way when leaving New Mexico for a Power Five program. Perhaps Donovan Dent will improve similarly after transferring from New Mexico to UCLA. Dent was already the Mountain West Player of the Year, and he will provide the much-needed offensive boost to a team that always gets to work on defense.
14. Texas Tech
Toppin, the leader of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, is arguably the best college basketball player in the country. He is a double-double machine who will win Texas Tech a lot of games single-handedly. The question mark in Lubbock is how the supporting cast will step up, now that Darrion Williams is playing for NC State?
13. Louisville
The offense should be elite for the Louisville Cardinals this season. The backcourt, in particular, is loaded with players who can score at all three levels. Mikel Brown, Ryan Conwell, Isaac McNeely, and Adrian Wooley should score in bunches this season. The defense will be the X-factor that makes or breaks Louisville's season.
12. Kentucky
Kentucky's outlook would be better if Jayden Quaintance weren't still recovering from a torn ACL, but it is unclear how much he will play this season. Quaintance is a transfer from Arizona State, and Otega Oweh joined the team last year after starting his career at Oklahoma. The Wildcats are no longer reliant on one-and-done players. While that leads to fewer draft prospects playing in Lexington, it does mean that they have more experience to win regular and postseason games. Kentucky will be freakishly athletic if Quaintance quickly joins Oweh as a superstar in Kentucky, but a lot of riding on the Arizona State product's health.
11. Arizona
Arizona has an elite freshman duo, consisting of Koa Peat and Brayden Burries. Both first-year players should score at a high level right away. This influx of youth is surrounded by veterans who know what they are doing. Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell'Orso, Tobe Awaka, and Motiejus Krivas will do the little things that lead to winning on the nights where the youngsters are still figuring out the ropes of college basketball.
10. Gonzaga
Gonzaga has loads of experience. Projected starters, Tyon Grant-Foster, Graham Ike, Adam Smith, Braden Huff, and Braeden Smith, have 25 years of collective college basketball experience. Gonzaga's roster will feature men playing against boys, and it could result in a special season.
9. Illinois
Illinois will be massive this season. It is unclear how the seven-foot-plus brotherly duo of Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic will pan out, but it certainly has the potential to be unstoppable. Rebounds will be secured and blocks will be swatted in Illinois, but the twin tower philosophy is really intriguing because both brothers have shooting touch. Andrej Stojakovic will provide even more shooting.
8. St. John's
St. John's was given the best transfer portal ranking by 247sports.com. Ian Jackson, Dillon Mitchell, Oziyah Sellers, Joson Sanon, and Bryce Hopkins could all make a big impact for Rick Pitino's squad, now that the coach is officially back as a CBB megastar. This St. John's team looks a lot different than the one that had a great season but was upset in the second round last year, but Pitino can be trusted to figure out what rotations and schemes will work well with this group of hoopers.
7. Houston
Houston's calling card is defense. They were the best defensive team last season, and they should again be stifling on that end in 2025-26. Joseph Tugler is elite on that end, evidenced by his Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year nod last season. Milos Uzan seems poised to become a megastar and replace LJ Cryer as the top dog on offense.
6. BYU
The era of NIL has allowed BYU to become a powerhouse program. The Cougars shocked the world and landed the number one high school player in the country, AJ Dybantsa. The freshman isn't the average first-year player, as he has a grown man's body and could physically dominate right away. Richie Saunders did everything for BYU last year, so the Cougars have a legitimate one-two punch. BYU impressed in March last season, and they still have plenty of fundamentals to go around. The Cougars will be more athletic than ever before, though.
5. UConn
UConn is a perennial contender that won back-to-back titles as recently as 2023 and 2024. Dan Hurley is arguably the best coach in the nation, and his players always rally behind him and his energetic personality. The Huskies always shoot the ball well from deep, and that shouldn't change on this roster with Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, and Braylon Mullins. All three of those snipers could be among the Big East leaders in 3-point makes.
4. Michigan
Michigan added the best transfer portal player in the country, and Yaxel Lendeborg could lift them to glory. Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr., and Elliot Cadeau round out what was one of the best transfer classes overall, outside of just their new big man. Lendeborg and Mara will form a scary frontcourt, as Mara is 7-foot-3. The team has big and strong wings, too, so the Wolverines should thrive on the glass and on defense. There will be plenty of teams that they overwhelm with size offensively, too.
3. Duke
Duke had a stacked freshman class last season, and that remains the case again this year. With Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia, and Dame Sarr all looking like potential first-round picks, the Blue Devils should once again have enough talent to trump their inexperience. Some returning players are prime candidates to take multiple steps forward, though, including Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba. Don't be surprised if six-plus Duke players hear their names called in the 2026 NBA Draft. That idea will be likely if the Blue Devils live up to their power ranking here.
2. Florida
While the defending champions lost their best player, Walter Clayton Jr., to the NBA, Florida is still in a great position to repeat as champions, something the program did back in 2006 and 2007 to become the seventh of eight back-to-back March Madness winners. Key returners include Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and Reuben Chinyelu. Transfer addition Boogie Fland can very well replicate the scoring production lost by Clayton's departure now that he is fully healthy. It seems unlikely that Olivier Rioux will do much this season, but at the end of the day, the Gators have a 7-foot-9 monster at their disposal.
1. Purdue
Purdue is ranked first in both the AP Poll and here in ClutchPoints' power rankings. The Boilermakers have been ranked as high as first in the AP Poll in four of the last five seasons. They come into this year as the favorites to finally break through and win the NCAA Tournament. As per usual, the team has an interior presence, highlighted by Trey Kaufman-Renn. He has the best point guard in the country to facilitate him the ball, too, as Braden Smith is the lone returning college player from last year's First-Team All-American squad.
