Initial SEC Power Rankings for men’s basketball in 2024-25

By Kevin McPherson

LITTLE ROCK — With the league growing by two teams to 16 members, and with preseason projections including as many as 10 league schools worthy of making the postseason NCAA Tournament, the SEC is arguably at its strongest in years when looking at the national landscape of college basketball.

Of course, we’re still more than a month away from the start of the regular season in early November, but the timing seems right to launch our first take on the strength of the league, top to bottom. So without further ado, here are …

My first SEC Power Rankings of 2024-25

1. Alabama. The Tide return key pieces from last season’s NCAA Tournament Final Four team and will possibly (if not likely) enter ’24-25 with multiple preseason national No. 1 poll rankings. Senior guard Mark Sears will be the leading candidate for SEC player of the Year with frontliners Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi certain to garner preseason all league projections with returning three-point gunner Latrell Wrightsell, Jr., and transfers Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood among a host of capable ‘Bama ballers. Nate Oats has taken over the reins as the SEC’s head coaching poster boy spanning the previous five seasons as his program has won two league titles in that span with that Final Four run serving as the SEC’s deepest postseason push in years. Will the Tide take the next step and win a national championship? It remains to be seen, but this squad has all the ingredients to do just that.

2. Auburn. The Tigers return arguably the best big man in the league if not the best overall player in Johni Broome with veterans Chris Moore (West Memphis native), Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara, and Dylan Cardwell also returning while welcoming in highly regarded transfer JP Pegues and freshman Jahki Howard. Auburn has been one of the top-tier programs in the SEC under the guidance of Bruce Pearl, and a brutal non-conference schedule (includes games against Duke, Houston, Purdue, Ohio State, plus three games in the Maui Invitational that opens against Iowa State) will have a veteran Tigers crew ready for everything the SEC will throw at them. If any team is to upset ‘Bama’s bid for a third league crown in the last six seasons, it’s intra-state rival Auburn. Certainly, this could prove to be a Final Four-worthy squad.

3. Arkansas. New roster under a new head coach, BUT it’s John Calipari, the dean of league coaches who simply moved his office from Lexington, Ky., after 15 seasons to Fayetteville, Ark., while bringing six Wildcats with him (three that played for league-runners-up BBN last season, three more that were 5-star high school studs who had either committed to or signed with Kentucky) plus Hogs returnee Trevon Brazile and national transfer portal prizes Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo. Despite recent struggles in postseason play at UK, Calipari almost annually builds squads that finish among the top two or three teams in the final SEC regular-season standings. He’s got the firepower in year one at Arkansas to position the team for such a run in league play, and of course his top nine rotation players are good enough if the on-court chemistry is right to make a run beyond the first weekend of the NCAAT.

4. Florida. Head coach Todd Golden has done a low-key strong job at Florida following the Mike White era, and his Gators were an NCAAT team a year ago. The Gators will once again come into a season with preseason NCAAT and top-half-of-league projections, and while this initial projection may seem a bit lofty relative to the strengths of other league teams, at least for now we see fewer question marks in Gainesville. It’s a squad that returns star guard Walter Clayton, Jr., along with 6-11 center Alex Condon and guard Will Richard while welcoming in transfers Sam Alexis and Alijah Martin as well as 7-9 freshman center Olivier Rioux. Returning 7-1 center Micah Handlogten is expected to redshirt in the upcoming season (broken left leg suffered late last season), otherwise the Gators might be ranked even higher on this list.

5. Tennessee. The defending SEC regular-season champion Vols are coming off an NCAAT Elite Eight run, and they’llll be projected to once again finish among the top handful of teams in the SEC. All league big man Jonas Aidoo transferred to Arkansas in the offseason, but Tennessee returns all league guard Zakai Zeigler while welcoming in highly regarded transfers Darlinstone Dubar and Chaz Lanier. The Vols rank third in the SEC in overall wins spanning the past 10 seasons (behind Kentucky and Arkansas who are 1-2, respectively). Head coach Rick Barnes appears to have the pieces in place for yet another strong and successful season in Knoxville.

6. Texas A&M. The Aggies will once again earn preseason projections to finish among the Top 4-5 teams in the SEC while earning an NCAAT at-large bid, but because they are typically (reliably?) enigmatic in either non-conference play or league play (sometimes both), it’s our assessment to have the Aggies sitting just outside the top five teams in the league, at least for the time being. A&M returns the bulk of last season’s NCAAT team, including star guard Wade Taylor IV plus veterans Andersson Garcia, Henry Coleman III, and others. This could easily be a team that competes among the top two or three SEC squads for a league title, we’re just not as bullish on Buzz Williams’ group of mostly returnees because of past results.

7. Texas. In their first campaign in the SEC, Texas will have what appears to be a NCAAT-worthy roster with the likes of Arkansas transfer wing Tramon Mark, highly regarded transfer guard Jordan Pope, 5-star freshman wing Tre Johnson, transfer combo forward Arthur Kaluma, and frontliner Kadin Shedrick. Third-year head coach Rodney Terry is coming off an NCAAT season in ’23-24, and with so much collective experience from the aforementioned group plus lottery-pick projections for Johnson the firepower is certainly there for the ‘Horns to get back to the Big Dance in ’24-25.

tie 8. Kentucky. New Wildcats head coach, former BYU head coach, and former Kentucky player Mark Pope recruited well in the offseason while loading up with perimeter firepower out of the transfer portal as BBN looks to have fielded an NCAAT worthy squad. Transfer guard Kerr Krissa will trigger an offense that includes perimeter snipers / transfers Koby Brea and former Razorback wing Jaxson Robinson with frontline transfer Andrew Carr capable of spacing the floor as well. There’s quality veteran depth, and though the ‘Cats don’t return key players it’s a new regime with an exciting playing style that may prove in time to be much better than this initial projection.

tie 8. Ole Miss. Chris Beard has had huge success everywhere he’s been and he just might be primed to take Ole Miss basketball to heights the program has never enjoyed before. His frontline recruiting in the offseason was top-shelf as he landed transfers Malik Dia and Mikeal Brown-Jones along with highly regarded 7-foot-2 freshman center John Bol. All league guard Matthew Murrell is back as is veteran forward Jaemyn Brakefield, and transfer Dre Davis could prove to be one of the best portal prizes in the league. Like is the case with Kentucky, we may look back on this initial projection in a few months and reason that the Rebels were too far down the list.

10. Mississippi State. Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans is not a flashy name in coaching and MSU has never been a flashy program in terms of national perception, but this squad will come in with preseason NCAAT and top-half-of-league projections. MSU reeled in talented Florida transfer guard Riley Kugel to team up with crafty sophomore lead guard Josh Hubbard in the backcourt, and the ‘Dogs also return veteran wing and all league defender Cameron Matthews as well as guard Shawn Jones, Jr. Frontline transfer RJ Melendez will be key as well.

11. South Carolina. Don’t sleep on ’23-24 SEC coach of the year Lamont Paris and his third Gamecocks team that returns star forward Collin Murray-Boyles from last season’s SEC regular-season runners-up (tied with three other teams). Former Vanderbilt Commodore Myles Stute is back at South Carolina for a second season, and senior guard Jacobi Wright is back, too. While this squad does not look like a threat to challenge for a league title like it did a year ago, it might be a dark horse to push for a top-half-of-league finish and an NCAAT at-large bid.

12. Georgia. Former Florida coach Mike White has settled into his role as leader of the Bulldogs hoops program, but in a loaded league year in and year out it seems like the traditional football power once again may be on the outside looking in when talking top-half-of-league finish and NCAAT projections. Versatile 5-star freshman Asa Newell will pose matchup problems for other teams as he could be an NBA Draft lottery-pick value after his first college season, and the ‘Dogs will also count on transfers Tyrin Lawrence and RJ Godfrey as well as Top 50-rated big man Somto Cyril, who had previously signed with Calipari when he was still at Kentucky.

13. Oklahoma. While Oklahoma appears to be one of six SEC teams that will come in with little fanfare in ’24-25, the Sooners under Porter Moser return frontliner Sam Godwin along with small forward / wing Jalon Moore with a host of incoming transfers and Top 25-ranked freshman guard Jeremiah Fears. This looks like it could be a season of struggle for OU as it enters the SEC. Recently under Moser, the Sooners performed well in non-conference play before they crumbled in league action. Of course, that was in the Big 12, arguably the best conference consistently in college basketball over the last several years. The SEC is no slouch, though, and the makeup of this squad does not inspire thoughts of league challenger let alone an NCAAT team.

14. LSU. Former Murray State coach Matt McMahon enters his third season leading the Tigers, and once again this could be another bottom-feeder season in Baton Rouge. Cam Carter, Tyrell Ward, Derek Fountain, Jalen Reed, Daimion Collins (former 5-star forward and Kentucky transfer), and freshman Vyctorious Miller will factor into the success (or lack of it) for this team. McMahon’s teams play hard and are not necessarily an easy out, but until that translates into winning this remains one of the bottom six programs in the SEC.

15. Missouri. The Tigers were winless in 19 games against league opponents last season, and this will not be a team coming into ’24-25 with high expectations. BUT, third-year head coach Dennis Gates — he led the Tigers to a surprise strong run in the SEC plus an NCAAT bid two years ago — did land a top-15 ranked high school recruiting class in the offseason, including highly regarded Little Rock native Annor Boateng. Maybe more importantly, Gates is bringing in highly regarded transfers in Tony Perkins, Mark Mitchell, and Jacob Crews as well as league journeyman big man Josh Gray. On paper, this roster might appear to be worthy of a better league projection with a shot at making a run toward an NCAAT at-large bid, but after last season’s massive fail in Columbia, Mo., it will take some “Show Me” from Mizzou to move the Tigers higher up on this list.

16. Vanderbilt. First-year coach Mark Byington has a heavy lift trying to elevate a Commodores program that mostly floundered under Jerry Stackhouse. The players to keep an eye on here on here are transfers AJ Hoggard (Michigan State) and Kijani Wright (Southern California) who are among 11 newcomers in Nashville in ’24-25. Vandy should be the longest of long shots to make any noise in the SEC this season.

One more time, here’s the list for my intial 2024-25 SEC men’s basketball Power Rankings …

1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Arkansas
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Texas A&M
7. Texas
tie 8. Kentucky
tie 8. Ole Miss
10. Mississippi State
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
13. Oklahoma
14. LSU
15. Missouri
16. Vanderbilt