Defending national champion Florida picked to win SEC; Kentucky’s Oweh named Preseason Player of the Year

Defending national champion Florida was predicted to win the 2026 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.

Kentucky’s Otega Oweh was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Nate Ament (Tennessee), Alex Condon (Florida), Malik Dia (Ole Miss), Boogie Fland (Florida), Thomas Haugh (Florida), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), and Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.

Condon, Hubbard, Oweh, and Pettiford were each All-SEC First Team selections along with Alabama’s Labaron Philon. Ament, Fland and Haugh were joined on the second team by Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Missouri’s Mark Mitchell. Dia along with Alabama’s Aden Holloway, Arkansas’ Karter Knox, Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe, and Arkansas’ D.J. Wagner were selected to the third team.

The 2025-26 campaign begins Monday, November 3, with conference play set to begin Saturday, January 3. The 2025 SEC Tournament will be March 11-15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

First Team All-SEC

Alex Condon – Florida

Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State

Otega Oweh – Kentucky

Tahaad Pettiford – Auburn

Labaron Philon Jr. – Alabama

Second Team All-SEC

Nate Ament – Tennessee

Boogie Fland – Florida

Ja’Kobi Gillespie – Tennessee

Thomas Haugh – Florida

Mark Mitchell – Missouri

Third Team All-SEC

Malik Dia – Ole Miss

Aden Holloway – Alabama

Karter Knox – Arkansas

Jaland Lowe – Kentucky

D.J. Wagner – Arkansas

SEC Player of the Year

Otega Oweh – Kentucky

Predicted Order Of Finish

1.      Florida

2.      Kentucky

3.      Tennessee

4.      Alabama

5.      Arkansas

6.      Auburn

7.      Missouri

8.      Ole Miss

9.      Texas

10.    Mississippi State

11.    Vanderbilt

12.    Oklahoma

13.    Texas A&M

14.    Georgia

15.    LSU

16.    South Carolina

Photo by Noah Lantor | The Independent Florida Alligator

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