Bearcats Just Out of AP Preseason Poll

The Associated Press released its preseason poll yesterday and there seems to be a mistake. Despite being tagged as the preseason favorites to win the American Athletic Conference by the league’s coaches and earning the No. 25 spot on the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, the Cincinnati Bearcats were not included in the AP poll.

It was by the slimmest of margins that they were left out, as the Bearcats received 110 votes, which was good enough for No. 26. Fellow AAC team/rival UConn was ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll.

UC has gone to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons but has not been a fixture in the AP poll. It spent six weeks in it last year, rising as high as No. 17, but was left out entirely during a 23-win campaign across the 2014-15 season. The year before that, the Bearcats came in at No. 15 in the final AP poll, marking the first time since 2005 they ended the year ranked.

Although the Bearcats were left out in this preseason ranking, it doesn’t really mean all that much. There is still a ton of returning (Troy Caupain, Gary Clark, Jacob Evans) and new (Kyle Washington, Jarron Cumberland) talent on this roster, which will be fighting for positioning throughout the season.

Here’s the full poll for your perusal. Feel free to sound off on why UC should be in over [insert your chosen team here].