We have barely been able to settle down from the excitement of Florida’s nail-biting 65-63 win over Houston in the 2024-25 NCAA men’s basketball championship, and ESPN has already dropped its “Way-Too-Early” Top 25 list for the 2025-26 season.
Being a little too real to its name, the “Way-Too-Early” list has become a meme stock for the fans on the internet.
Fans Slam the ESPN “Way-Too-Early” List
Less than a day after Florida lifted the trophy, ESPN rolled out its projections for the upcoming season. This gave the fans the opening they needed to make fun of the reputed sports news outlet. The online roast began with one of the fans making a post on the official subreddit of College Basketball.
The post shared the link to the projection list. In the commons of the post, one of the fans wrote “We’re already doing this?! The Florida boys aren’t even off the damn stage yet,”.
Another chimed in, “People are still 2024-25 fans? 2025-26 NCCAAMB fans let’s goooo.” Fans made it clear that in their eyes, it’s absurd to rank next season’s teams before the current champs even finish their victory lap.
ESPN 2025-26 men’s NCAA basketball rankings: Way-Too-Early Top 25
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However, these comments did not make ESPN flinch. Neither did Sports Illustrated, which also jumped in with its own early rankings. Both outlets pegged Houston and Purdue near the top.
But Louisville caught attention, landing at No. 3 on ESPN’s list and No. 5 on SI’s. The Cardinals’ spot was a little controversial in many fans’ eyes, especially since their roster is still a work in progress.
The transfer portal and player movement make these rankings a gamble. One fan pointed out the flaw, saying, “These used to at least be interesting, but with so many rosters being half-full, it’s just flat-out guesswork now.”
Teams like Louisville, with just five or six players locked in, could look totally different by tip-off. Yet ESPN doubled down, banking on the potential returns of stars J’Vonne Hadley and Kasean Pryor to bolster the Cardinals’ case.
However, Louisville’s hype isn’t baseless. After a 27-8 season under first-year coach Pat Kelsey, the Cardinals are riding momentum. They’ve locked in the No. 7 high school recruiting class and the top transfer portal haul, per 247Sports.
Five-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. and four-star big man Sananda Fru headline the freshmen. From the portal, Xavier’s Ryan Conwell, Virginia’s Isaac McKneely, and Kennesaw State’s Adrian Wooley are some serious talents to look forward to.
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Still, the losses sting. Six players graduated, and another bolted via the portal. James Scott and Khani Rooths return, joined by redshirts Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers. Hadley and Pryor could tip the scales if they stay. But fans aren’t sold on the guesswork.
They aren’t ready to move on. Florida’s title win excitement still lingers. Houston’s near-miss still stings. The 2025-26 hype train can wait, at least until the stage clears.
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