Kentucky Ranked in First AP Top-25 Poll of 2022

Kentucky Wildcats Ranked in First Associated Press AP Top 25 Poll

Kentucky will kick off its 2022 season on September 3rd against versus Miami (OH) at Kroger Field. The Wildcats will start the season ranked inside the top 25 at No.20. This is the first time the Wildcats will start inside the top-25 since 1978.

Mark Stoop's program comes off a ten-win season and is looking to build towards being an annual contender for the SEC East. 

The Wildcats have questions at various spots, but they looked poised to challenge Georgia for the SEC East in 2022, if they can keep Will Levis upright and find a couple of playmakers on the edge. 

Kentucky held its first preseason scrimmage on Saturday morning and Stoops seemed pleased with the outing, noting a good starting point, but also the opportunity to grow. 

"Very good first scrimmage," Stoops told the media on Saturday. "As I told the team, it is a good starting point. We have a lot of work to do. In the middle of camp, you would expect certain little injuries or positions to take a hit—nothing major—thank goodness. Everyone that is currently injured, we expect to get back. We did stay healthy in the scrimmage. Overall really good work today. Some things that really stood out to me, defensively, being very stout. I feel like we improved upfront and as a whole, in being stern, we improved. Better pass rush stood out. I have noticed that through camp and today in live I action, I feel like we grew in that area. Offensively, I see a lot of young, dynamic playmakers. I see some guys that are athletic and can stretch the field. We didn't get as many opportunities for those guys today as we'd like. That comes with protection, getting reps and taking our shots down the field. You saw signs of it, but we can continue to improve in that area. Overall, pleased, but still a lot of work to do."

Below is the full AP poll: 

Preseason @AP_Top25 poll:

1-Bama
2-Ohio St
3-Georgia
4-Clemson
5-NDame
6-A&M
7-Utah
8-Michigan
9-OU
10-Baylor
11-Oregon
12-Okla St
13-NC St
14-USC
15-Mich St
16-Miami
17-Pitt
18-Wisconsin
19-Arkansas
20-Kentucky
21-Ole Miss
22-Wake
23-Cincinnati
24-Houston
25-BYU

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 15, 2022