Expectations are running sky-high for Florida basketball entering the 2026-27 campaign, especially for its star four-year forward Thomas Haugh.
With less than two weeks before the start of the regular-season schedule, ESPN's Myron Medcalf issued his predictions for every D1 conference's Player of the Year award. He expects Haugh to finish as the top dog in the SEC this year.
"During SEC media days, Haugh acknowledged that if his team's season hadn't ended in the second round of last season's NCAA tournament following an upset loss to Iowa, he might not have returned. But Haugh, an Associated Press third-team All-American last year, is back as the leader of a Florida squad that's favored to win its second national championship in three seasons,"
Metcalf offers.
"If Haugh reaches all of his goals, he could win national player of the year plus a national title and earn a spot in the top 10 of the 2027 NBA Draft."
The New Oxford, Pennsylvania, product's top competition for the award is Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, who averaged 19.5 points and 5.1 assists per game along with a 37% mark from beyond the arc during the 2025-26 campaign.
Last season, Haugh was named to the All-SEC First Team by both the coaches and Associated Press, while also earning Second-Team All-American recognition from The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, plus a spot on the AP and U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Third Team. He joined Walter Clayton Jr. as the only players in program history to earn All-America honors from all four consensus selectors
Haugh also finished as a top-five finalist for the 2026 Julius Erving Award.
ESPN's Power Conferences predictions for Player of the Year
- Atlantic Coast Conference: Flory Bidunga, Louisville
- Big East Conference: Silas Demary Jr., UConn
- Big 12 Conference: Tyran Stokes, Kansas
- Big Ten Conference: Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
- Southeastern Conference: Thomas Haugh, Florida
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: ESPN picks Florida's Thomas Haugh to win SEC Player of the Year
