AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas Men’s Basketball team is ranked No. 7 in The Associated Press’ Preseason Top 25, the wire service announced Monday. This marks Texas’ highest preseason AP ranking since the Longhorns were tabbed No. 5 entering the 2021-22 season.

UT has now made 22 appearances in school history in The AP preseason poll, including six of the last seven years. Texas was tabbed No. 6 in 1978-79, No. 22 in 1990-91, No. 16 in 1996-97, No. 22 in 1997-98, No. 21 in 1999-2000, No. 23 in 2001-02, No. 4 in 2002-03, No. 12 in 2003-04, No. 16 in 2004-05, No. 2 in 2005-06, No. 21 in 2006-07, No. 15 in 2007-08, No. 7 in 2008-09, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 10 in 2014-15, No. 21 in 2016-17, No. 19 in 2020-21, No. 5 in 2021-22, No. 12 in 2022-23, No. 18 in 2023-24 and No. 19 in 2024-25.

The Longhorns are one of seven Southeastern Conference teams selected in The AP preseason Top 25, joining Florida (1), Tennessee (8), Arkansas (12), Alabama (20), Kentucky (23) and Vanderbilt (24).

The Longhorns return one starter, junior center Matas Vokietaitis, from last year’s team which posted a 21-15 overall record (9-9 SEC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Head Coach Sean Miller and his staff added a total of 11 newcomers to the roster, and the group was tabbed the No. 1 overall class (including incoming freshmen and transfers) in the nation by 247 Sports.

The five transfer additions include sophomore guard Amari Evans (Tennessee), junior guard/forward Elyjah Freeman (Auburn), sophomore guard Isaiah Johnson (Colorado), junior guard Mikey Lewis (Saint Mary’s) and junior forward David Punch (TCU). The six-man freshman class was ranked as the No. 4 recruiting class nationally by 247 Sports and is highlighted a trio of players from the state of Texas in guard Austin Goosby, guard Bo Ogden and forward Marcus Spears Jr.

Texas opens the 2026-27 season with a home contest against Chicago State on Monday, Nov. 2. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central in Moody Center, and the game will be televised nationally by SEC Network.

The Associated Press’ Preseason Top 25 (2026-27 season)




Rank



Team (First-Place Votes)



Points





1.



Florida (47)



1,461





2.



Duke (10)



1,411





3.



Illinois (2)



1,342





4.



UConn



1,241





5.



Arizona



1,214





6.



Michigan State



1,203





7.



TEXAS



1,040





8.



Tennessee



932





9.



Virginia



874





10.



Houston



829





11.



Louisville



822





12.



Arkansas



760





13.



St. John’s



669





14.



Miami, Fla.



650





15.



Gonzaga



637





16.



Michigan



605





17.



Kansas



504





18.



Iowa State



475





19.



Texas Tech



466





20.



Alabama



374





21.



USC



306





22.



UCLA



250





23.



Kentucky



243





24.



Vanderbilt



241





25.



BYU



179