Houston Opens Season Ranked No. 2 in AP Men’s Basketball Poll

The Houston Cougars will enter the 2025-26 men’s basketball season carrying one of the highest expectations in program history. Voted No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll released Monday, Houston matched its best-ever preseason ranking and reaffirmed its place among college basketball’s elite.

The Cougars earned 16 first-place votes and finished just behind Purdue, which claimed the top spot with 35. Houston has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 107 straight weeks — the longest active streak in the nation — and this marks the second time the program has started a season at No. 2, the first coming during Elvin Hayes’ 1967-68 campaign.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson returns several key contributors from last season’s 35-win team, including guards Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, along with forward Joseph Tugler, who was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. A highly rated freshman class featuring Chris Cenac Jr., Kingston Flemings, Isiah Harwell and Bryce Jackson adds depth to a roster built to contend again in March.

Since joining the Big 12, Houston has quickly become one of the conference’s powerhouses, capturing back-to-back regular-season titles and compiling a 19-1 record in league play last year. Sampson’s group will again enter as the favorite to repeat, though a demanding nonconference slate — including matchups with Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn — will test the Cougars early.

Houston will tip off the season at home against Lehigh on Nov. 3 at the Fertitta Center.

With talent, experience and history on their side, the Cougars appear positioned for another deep postseason run — and perhaps a shot at the national title that’s eluded them for decades.