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We made it, y’all!
College basketball is officially back in our lives. This is a great month for sports fans. College football and the NFL are in full swing. There are plenty of NBA and NHL regular-season games on TV. And now? College hoops!
There are still a couple of weeks to get through before the major nonconference tournaments start, but these tune-up games will still be entertaining. After all, in this era of the transfer portal, fans will need to get familiar with several new guys on their teams.
How do the 16 SEC teams stack up as we enter the 2024-25 regular season? Here are our preseason power rankings:
16. Vanderbilt
AJ Hoggard, the transfer from Michigan State, is suspended for the season-opener, but he should be an impact player in Nashville. Outside of him, the roster is pretty mediocre. Boston College transfer Devin McGlockton could be interesting, I suppose.
15. Oklahoma
Kobe Elvis has a first-team all-college basketball name. He should also be a leader on this team after transferring to Norman from Dayton. Jalon Moore is going to have to take his game to another level after averaging 11.1 points last season if the Sooners are going to do anything in SEC play.
14. LSU
Derek Fountain and Jalen Reed have both been at LSU for multiple years, so they should be decent working together in the post. The transfers in the LSU back court are exciting, though. Cam Carter averaged 14.6 points at Kansas State last year and Jordan Sears scored a whopping 21.6 points per contest at Tennessee-Martin last season.
13. Georgia
Freshman Asa Newell could be an immediate contributor in the post. Silas Demary is back for another year at the guard position. Tyrin Lawrence is an interesting transfer player from Vanderbilt. There’s not much depth for the Bulldogs this year, though.
12. Mizzou
Mark Mitchell (Duke) and Josh Gray (South Carolina) give the Tigers some intriguing size down low. Tony Perkins comes from Iowa and will likely be this team’s leading scorer. Jacob Crews could be a volume scorer, too. At the very least, this team will be better than last year’s Tigers.
11. Mississippi State
This is my dark-horse candidate to make some noise in the SEC this year. Kanye Clary comes over from Penn State, where he averaged 16.7 points per game last year. Josh Hubbard is ready for a second year as the star of the team. Cameron Matthews is back to stabilize the post. Riley Kugel (Florida) and RJ Melendez (Georgia) give the Bulldogs a pair of intriguing wing players. Playing in Starkville won’t be easy this year.
10. South Carolina
Jamarii Thomas is a key name to keep an eye on in Columbia this year. The Norfolk State transfer averaged 16.9 points per game last season. This team also returns a couple of key players from last year in Myles Stute, Collin Murray-Boyles and Zachary Davis. They know Lamont Paris’s system and will be able to help the new guys get up to speed.
9. Ole Miss
Keep your eye on Sean Pedulla as a potential major impact transfer in the SEC. He comes to Oxford after spending the last 3 years at Virginia Tech. He averaged 16.4 points per game last year. If he can score at that level for the Rebels, this team could finish in the top half of the league.
8. Texas
The Longhorns figure to be a transfer-heavy team this year. Jordan Pope (Oregon State), Tramon Mark (Houston/Arkansas), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State/Creighton) and Kadin Shedrick (Virginia) all should start for this team. Shedrick was in Austin last year, but all the other guys are new. Rodney Terry will have his work cut out for him to get this unit ready for SEC play.
7. Florida
Yes, this should be a solid team, led by Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, FAU transfer Alijah Martin and others, but let’s be real. We all want to see 7-foot-9 big man Olivier Rioux, who enters the Florida program as a freshman. It’s not many people who can make Zach Edey seem small, but Rioux fits that bill. Can he contribute this year? We’ll see.
6. Kentucky
The Mark Pope era begins in Lexington. Kentucky will likely have a starting 5 comprised entirely of transfer players. Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Jaxson Robinson (BYU), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) and Amari Williams (Drexel) should all see big-time minutes for the Wildcats. Butler is a veteran leader and Robinson is familiar with Pope, who comes to Kentucky from BYU. Look for those guys to lead the way from the backcourt in this new era of Big Blue Basketball.
5. Arkansas
Johnell Davis of FAU fame was a big addition for coach John Calipari in his inaugural season at Arkansas. The rest of this roster has talent, too, including holdover Trevon Brazile. DJ Wagner came with Coach Cal from Kentucky. Boogie Fland could/should be a 1-and-done guy. Jonas Aidoo provides a defensive presence in the middle after coming over from Tennessee. This is an intriguing team and I expect Calipari to be very motivated to finish ahead of Kentucky in the standings.
4. Texas A&M
Wade Taylor IV is my dark-horse pick for SEC Player of the Year. And I’m not even sure it’s that much of a dark-horse pick. He’s a first-team All-SEC preseason guy. Henry Coleman is back for what feels like his 12th year of college basketball. He’ll provide veteran leadership. Zhuric Phelps comes over from SMU looking to provide a second shooter alongside Taylor. If Manny Obaseki can take another step forward this year, the Aggies can be a really good team.
3. Tennessee
Losing Dalton Knecht will really hurt, obviously. But the cupboard isn’t bare in Knoxville. Zakai Zeigler could be a first-team All-SEC player by the end of the year. The revamped front court of Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara and Igor Milicic from Charlotte might need some time to jell, but when everything comes together for Rick Barnes and company, I expect the Vols to be a top-3 team in the league again.
2. Auburn
The Tigers return Johni Broome, perhaps the best big man in the entire SEC. JP Pegues from Furman could be the next Wendell Green type. Miles Kelly from Georgia Tech should be a big contributor. Denver Jones will have another year of experience under his belt. This is a deep, experienced starting lineup.
1. Alabama
Mark Sears is the preseason Player of the Year in the SEC. The Crimson Tide got big man Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers this offseason to put alongside Grant Nelson in the post. Latrell Wrightsell is a knockdown 3-point shooter when he’s healthy. Nate Oats has a talented roster once again. Considering this team made a Final Four run last year, there’s plenty to like in Tuscaloosa.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
