Andy Katz is back with another Top 16 list. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen him tab Koby Brea as the nation’s top three-point shooter and Jaxson Robinson as one of the best wings. Now, he’s showing Lamont Butler some love.

On Thursday, Katz ranked his Top 16 defenders going into the 2024-25 season. He has Butler, who won Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons at San Diego State, checking in at No. 6 on his list.

“Known for his game-winning buzzer-beater in the 2023 Final Four, Butler is widely regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in college basketball,” Katz wrote on NCAA.com. “He averaged 1.5 steals per game last season and has consistently been a defensive leader on championship-contending teams. Butler’s experience and elite defensive skills will make him a key asset for Kentucky in the upcoming season.”

Butler is one of seven SEC players to make Katz’s list. Tennessee has three players among the Top 16. Former Kentucky center Ugonna Onyenso, now at Kansas State, also made the cut.

Along with his two DPOY awards, Butler made Mountain West All-Defense three straight seasons at SDSU (2021-24). The 6-foot-2 guard has averaged 1.4 steals per game throughout his four-year college career, which includes 102 starts across 131 appearances. His career-high of six steals actually came against BYU (Mark Pope‘s former team) back in Nov. 2022.

So Pope knew exactly what he was getting by bringing in Butler through the transfer portal.

“Lamont Butler is really trying to bring a leadership voice to this program,” Pope said Thursday on KSR. “He’s also given us a defensive presence that you can’t overstate. This league, the SEC, is full of great point guards, and I’m spending exactly zero time — I sweat about a lot of things at night, but I’m sweating exactly zero ounces of sweat are coming from my body when I think about guarding point guards in this league, which I don’t know if anybody is doing.”

On a team that will be known for its offense, Butler will provide the intensity on defense that Kentucky needs to succeed.

Andy Katz’s Top 16 defenders

1. Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
2. Cliff Omoruyi (Alabama)
3. Johni Broome (Auburn)
4. Ace Baldwin Jr. (Penn State)
5. Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State)
6. Lamont Butler (Kentucky)
7. Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee)
8. Milos Uzan (Houston)
9. Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M)
10. Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB)
11. Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)
12. Ugonna Onyenso (Kansas State)
13. Kadary Richmond (St. John’s)
14. Caleb Foster (Duke)
15. Aziz Bandaogo (Cincinnati)
16. Felix Okpara (Tennessee)

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