Florida's Haugh leads SEC Preseason All-Conference teams

Florida’s Thomas Haugh was named preseason SEC Player of the the Year by. the league’s coaches. (Courtesy Unv. Florida Athletics)

By GRAHAM DUNN

The preseason favorite Florida Gators placed two players on the first team Southeastern Conference its 22nd annual coaches’ preseason All-SEC basketball teams Thursday, tipping off the 2026-27 season.

Florida’s Thomas Haugh was the coaches’ choice for SEC Preseason Player of the Year and was joined by teammate Rueben Chinyelu.

Haugh was joined on the preseason first team is Alabama’s Amari Allen, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard, and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner.

The SEC’s seven teams ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 are the most in the nation: Florida 1st, Texas seventh, Tennessee eighth, Arkansas 12th, Alabama 20th, Kentucky 23rd, and Vanderbilt 24th.

The SEC is the top-ranked conference entering the 2026-27 season, according to KenPom. The SEC has led the KenPom conference rankings in each of the last two seasons, including a record rating of +22.09 in 2025. Ten teams ranked in the Top 30 of KenPom’s preseason team rankings lead all conferences. All 16 teams rank in the Top 100.

The 2025-26 campaign begins Monday, November 2, with league play set to begin January 2. The SEC Tournament returns to Nashville, Tenn., as Bridgestone Arena will host the event from March 10-14, 2027.

A list of the 2026-27 SEC Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason All-SEC teams follows:

First Team

Amari Allen, Alabama

Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

Second Team

Alex Condon, Florida

Juke Harris, Tennessee

Milan Momcilovic, Kentucky

Matas Vokietaitis, Texas

Jordan Smith Jr., Arkansas

Third Team

PJ Haggerty, Texas A&M

Malachi Moreno, Kentucky

Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

David Punch, Texas

Billy Richmond III, Arkansas

Preseason Player of the Year

Thomas Haugh, Florida