The most formidable contenders in college basketball entering the 2025-26 season also have first-rate frontcourts in the sport. And that is no coincidence.
Roster construction to build a juggernaut can take different forms and rely more heavily on guards or wings. But many of the best teams this season project to have elite frontcourt talents that will serve as the focal points.
So in what may feel like a bit of a throwback, bigs — as they have in recent years with Zach Edey, Johni Broome and Cooper Flagg, among others — have a chance to again be the face of the sport. As such, I have crafted a list of the teams whose frontcourts are the best entering the season, and the correlation between the top 10 on this list and what will eventually be the top 10 teams in the preseason AP poll is close to 1:1.
Ranking the top 10 backcourts in college basketball: Alabama, Kentucky, Florida have top guards
Kyle Boone
Let’s start at the top with the reigning champion Florida Gators.
1. Florida Gators
Florida lost its dynamic sharpshooting savior Walter Clayton Jr. from its title-winning team of 2025 but it returns every player of significance from its frontcourt led by starters Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and do-it-all weapon Thomas Haugh. It also adds in redshirt freshman big man Olivier Rioux, he of the rare 7-foot-9 variety, as well as role player Micah Handlogten. Size isn’t the only thing that matters when measuring frontcourt impact — but Florida has more size than any in the sport and more talent in that room, too.
Point guard Braden Smith draws the headlines as the face of this Purdue team — but I’m not so sure it shouldn’t be Trey Kaufman-Renn. He was a top-10 player the last two months of last season and is the bread that butters this Boilermakers’ attack on the front line. He’s not alone, either. Sophomore 7-4 center Daniel Jacobsen joins this mix after missing most of last season with injury, and star transfer Oscar Cluff will add more interior scoring and toughness as a rebounder. There’s a reason Purdue will be No. 1 on my preseason ballot and this frontcourt is a huge reason why.
A Rick Pitino-coached team with returning star Zuby Ejiofor earns an automatic bid into the top five of any frontcourt ranking list. The addition of Providence star Bryce Hopkins and Cincinnati big Dillon Mitchell is just icing on the cake. Ejiofor averaged 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season for a 31-win Johnnies team, and he is surrounded now by an even better supporting cast. That should be scary for the rest of the Big East.
Houston might have the best — no, it absolutely does have the best — defender in college basketball anchoring its frontcourt: JoJo Tugler. He had the highest block rate among major conference players last season and is in line to grow into an even bigger role this season. Tugler has five-star freshman Chris Cenac as a running mate this year, too, giving this team weaponry on both ends. Cenac is the highest-rated signee in Houston’s basketball history and someone who has extensive experience competing at a high level as a long-time member on Team USA’s FIBA and junior national teams.
Power forward Graham Ike returns for Gonzaga after leading the team last season in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, which earned him First Team All-WCC honors. Ike and center Braden Huff both made big strides last season with the Bulldogs and will shoulder an even bigger load with second-leading scorer Khalif Battle, fourth-leading scorer Nolan Hickman and fifth-leading scorer Ryan Nembhard among the outgoing producers who coach Mark Few must replace. All signs point to a steady diet of Ike and Huff incoming.
No. 3 overall recruit Cameron Boozer — who I currently project as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — is the driving force behind Duke’s standing here. Boozer’s a versatile inside-out big who can handle, pass and shoot, and he’s a sneaky contender to contend for Player of the Year if his high school resume and production transitions well to college. Duke also brings back center Patrick Ngongba, who flashed in limited stints last season behind big man Khaman Maluach. Both Boozer and Ngongba have skill sets that will play well off each other, and together they will be the driving force behind the best team in the ACC.
If you didn’t consume Yaxel Lendeborg’s ferocious and freaky good game at UAB then you’re in for a real treat this season watching him at Michigan. He’s a destructive force whose game with the Wolverines is about to level up behind some of the best coaches in the sport. Lendeborg’s instincts are extraterrestrial in nature and allow him to play with versatility of a wing with the size, physicality and timing of a center. He and fellow transfers Morez Johnson and Aday Mara all bring different assets to the table here in Ann Arbor and there’s enough here to bet on this team being among the five best not just in frontcourt talent, but among all teams in college hoops. However much stock you’ve bought in this team, just know: It is still not enough.
Star center Nate Bittle returns for Oregon after starting in all 35 games for the Ducks last season and passing on a chance to almost certainly be selected somewhere in the 2025 NBA Draft. Bittle led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks last season and will again co-star next to guard Jackson Shelstad on this team. Look for junior Kwame Evans Jr. to step up in this frontcourt in 2025-26 to give Bittle an enforcer on the interior who can rebound and add physicality down low.
9. UConn Huskies
If you listen to Dan Hurley talk about his reconfigured roster you’d be high on this UConn team, too. Hopes of a rebound year center largely on a remade backcourt but I’m very high on what it can bring in the frontcourt as well. Senior Tarris Reed is a special force on the interior, and Alex Karaban is an ideal stretch-four to complement Reed’s physical force. There’s depth for days here too with 7-foot-1 sharpshooter Eric Reibe primed to grow into a rotation piece as he gets acclimated.
Coach John Calipari had Arkansas playing its best basketball in March after a bumpy regular season. That steady crescendo late was a credit in part to its play down low from Trevon Brazile, a returning forward on this year’s team, and from Jonas Aidoo. While Aidoo is gone, Arkansas may have upgraded on the whole with transfers Malique Ewin (FSU) and Nick Pringle (South Carolina) joining the mix. Ewin averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 boards per game last season with the Seminoles and Pringle rated out as one of the best defenders on his team playing alongside lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles. This team is going to be long and athletic, just as Calipari likes it.
Honorable mentions: UNC, NC State, Kansas, Illinois, Louisville
