The College Basketball season is almost here, and that means it’s time for the preseason rankings. Kentucky fans got their first taste of this year’s team, and now know if where the Wildcats will begin the season among the top 25. On Monday, the Associated Press released their preseason top 25, and Kentucky is No. 23 in the country.

That’s where the Wildcats will be at when the season begins, and there will be plenty of room to climb throughout the season. As far as conference foes go, there are a handful of teams who will start the season rannked ahead of them. Alabama ranks No. 2 in the country, followed by Auburn (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 12), Texas A&M (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 16), and Florida (No. 21), with Ole Miss right behind the Wildcats at 24th in the nation. The conference is going to be as loaded this season as it has been in a long time.

Outside of the Wildcats tough conference schedule, they will also have some intriguing out-of-conference matchups. The first big test of the season will be against Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 12. Then, they’ll hit the road at Clemson, facing the Tigers in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 3. It doesn’t get any easier, as they’ll be taking on Gonzaga (Dec. 7), who will begin the season at No. 6 overall just outside the top 5. The Wildcats will also be taking on former Wildcat Aaron Bradshaw and Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 21.

Kentucky will have a tough schedule this season, but you’ve got to think that the experience will help with that, especially with the early-season tests. The Mark Pope era will officially begin real soon.

Unlike most years, Kentucky didn’t host a long list of visitors for Big Blue Madness this time around. Instead, Mark Pope wanted to push all of his chips in on Acaden Lewis, the No. 30 overall prospect and No. 5 point guard in 2025.

It was the lone official visitor on campus — top-20 junior Anthony Thompson took an unofficial and left with a scholarship offer — an intentional decision considering what’s on the table in his recruitment. For starters, the 6-2 athlete is very, very good and seen as arguably the top pure college point guard prospect in his class. He has also openly discussed playing with current commits Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno, along with another top target for the Wildcats, top-five recruit Caleb Wilson.

The biggest reason to roll out the blue carpet for him now? Well, he’s just a couple of weeks away from a decision, set to announce his commitment in early November. And Kentucky got his final official with Lewis previously taking trips to see fellow finalists UConn and Duke in recent weeks.

It’s a blue blood recruitment for a blue-chip recruit. The nation’s best want Acaden Lewis and the Wildcats are working toward sealing the deal. This weekend went a long way in those efforts.

The post-visit rollout has begun, starting with his photoshoot rocking Kentucky blue. And the kid looks like he was born to wear that No. 55 in Lexington.

Releasing the photos on Sunday, Pope and his staff took the prized target to Rupp Arena to use the state-of-the-art glass floor for his shoot. They went to the top of the arena — the Kentucky head coach likes showing recruits the passion found way up in the nosebleeds by the banners — along with snapping a few pics on the court.

Oh, and Malachi Moreno joined them for one of the photos.

Take a look at the complete photo gallery, courtesy of Acaden Lewis and UK Athletics:

We even got an official visit hype video after things wrapped up in Lexington, Lewis included among the all-time greats to come through the Kentucky basketball program.

Come on down, Acaden.