Mar 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball's success projection for the next 25 years will outrage Big Blue Nation

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Without a doubt, Kentucky is the most successful and historic program in all of college basketball. It has obviously been over a decade since the Wildcats have won a national title, but things seem to be trending in the right direction under Mark Pope.

The Wildcats hadn't made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the pandemic until year one of the Pope era, where he took Kentucky to the Sweet 16. He did this with a team that was missing some key pieces, and he put it together in a month via veteran transfer portal players.

This season, the Wildcats have a team that looks like one of the best teams in all of college basketball and should give Pope a real chance at his first national title as a head coach.

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Kyle Boone of CBS Sports just wrote an article where he ranked the top 25 programs over the next 25 years, and Kentucky was a lot lower than most fans would expect.

Many would expect to see the Wildcats inside of the top five, but according to Boone, they are ninth behind teams like Louisville, Indiana, Alabama, and Michigan.

Here is what Boone had to say about the Wildcats: "Development, depth, and deft evaluation of the transfer portal will be key to Kentucky under coach Mark Pope — a stark contrast to the one-and-done emphasis deployed under coach John Calipari. While I don't think it will lead UK to top five status the next 25 years, I do think it'll lead to plenty of success and perhaps a title or two. The Wildcats are as appealing as ever, and they will continue to produce some of the best players in the sport."

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It is confusing that Boone says he could see them winning a title or two over the next 25 years but doesn't have them in the top five. Kentucky is going to put a ton of NIL money toward the basketball team, and the brand is just too large for it to be ranked here over the next 25 years.

It is clear that Boone doesn't have a ton of belief in Coach Pope but all of Big Blue Nation does, as many expect him to become a legend at his alma mater. Without a shadow of a doubt, Kentucky is going to be a top five college basketball program over the next 25 years.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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