In Reply to: Did you really expect UCLA to get a vote? posted by ej on September 23, 2025 at 14:58:43
I think consensus is settling closer to #10, though these rankings always seem to fluctuate. You’re right—we won’t truly know what we have until a couple of weeks into the season. Still, I’d like to believe UCLA can be a top-10 team. We finished last year near the top 25, and while we did lose a few players, most were minor contributors with the exception of Mack, who had some strong games early on.
Looking at this year, we know what we’re getting from our top three returners and Dent, plus Perry and, to some extent, Williams, who saw solid minutes his freshman year. That’s six dependable guys. I feel really confident about us at the 1–4 spots; it’s the 5 that worries me. Then again, we didn’t have a true presence there last year either, and we still ended up around the top 25. With another year of experience and some key additions, this group should outperform last year’s team.
The hole in the middle is real, and it probably limits our ceiling, but I still think we’ll be really good.
Rankings snapshot:
CBS Top 25 and 1: #10
Jon Rothstein: #5
Jeff Borzello (ESPN): #15
USA Today: #10