ESPN is wrong about Kentucky basketball's starting lineup for the 2025-26 season

Assuming Otega Oweh comes back for the 2025-26 season, Kentucky's roster is set for the season unless Coach Pope adds another depth piece. Knowing that Kentucky's roster is mostly set, it is time for different media outlets to start predicting who is going to star for Pope's team.

ESPN took a shot at predicting the starting lineup for the Wildcats, and it seems like they are wrong at a few different spots. According to ESPN, the starting lineup for the Kentucky Wildcats is going to include Jaland Lowe, Jasper Johnson, Otega Oweh, Mouhamed Dioubate, and Brandon Garrison.

In this lineup, two of the starters are 100% correct, and they are Lowe and Oweh. These two, without any shadow of a doubt, will be starting for the Wildcats next season.

Then, when it comes to Johnson, Dioubate, and Garrison, things get a lot more interesting. Dioubate has a good shot to start over Andrija Jelavic, but the Croatian is a wildcard who possesses a ton of upside.

Johnson will have to beat out Denzel Aberdeen and Kam Williams which could prove very difficult to do. Aberdeen is the player who will more than likely end up starting in this backcourt, but Johnson and Williams both have a shot.

Garrison will play a big role on this team, but there is no way he is going to start over Jayden Quaintance once he is back from the ACL tear.

This lineup from ESPN would look a lot better if Aberdeen and Quaintance were flipped with Johnson and Garrison. The good news for Kentucky is that all of these different lineups have a shot to be elite which is why this team will be so special.