Florida leads SEC basketball poll as Kentucky slips

For decades, the road to SEC men’s basketball supremacy inevitably ran straight through Kentucky basketball. But heading into the 2026-27 campaign, the league’s media sees a dramatically different landscape.

In the SEC preseason media poll released Monday, the Florida Gatorswere selected to repeat as conference champion, riding the momentum of preseason Player of the Year favorite Thomas Haugh.

Kentucky, meanwhile, finds itself in unfamiliar territory: looking up from seventh place.

The Wildcats' projected finish outside the top six underscores the league's grueling depth in the expanded 16-team era. Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Vanderbilt all slotted ahead of Kentucky in the predicted order of finish, highlighting the stiff uphill

climb facing Big Blue Nation when conference play tips off in January.

Yet, despite being picked in the bottom half of the conference's upper tier, Kentucky isn't lacking the firepower or talent to rewrite those preseason projections.

Two Wildcats earned All-SECpreseason accolades on Monday. Iowa State transfer forward Milan Momcilovic snagged a spot on the All-SEC Second Team, bringing elite perimeter shot-making and frontcourt versatility that could immediately elevate Kentucky's half-court offense. Inside, highly touted center Malachi Moreno was honored with a selection to the All-SEC Third Team, giving the Wildcats an imposing defensive anchor and rim-runner around the basket.

If Kentucky is to defy the pollsters and crash the SEC title race, the tandem of Momcilovic’s spacing and Moreno’s interior paint presence will need to set the tone early.

Florida, however, enters the season as the undisputed target. Behind Haugh—who also edged out teammate Alex Condon, Arkansas' Billy Richmond III, and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner for preseason Player of the Year honors—the Gators placed two players on the First Team (Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu) and Condon on the Second Team.

Behind the Gators, Texas (No. 2) and Arkansas (No. 3) loom as major contenders, with the Razorbacks featuring dynamic talent in Jordan Smith Jr. and Richmond. Vanderbilt check in at No. 6 behind star guard Tyler Tanner, sitting just one spot ahead of Kentucky.

The season officially tips off Monday, November 2, with the grueling 18-game SEC slate opening Saturday, January 2. All 16 teams will ultimately converge on Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the SEC Tournament from March 10-14.

For Florida, the mission is wire-to-wire dominance. For Kentucky, starting at No. 7 simply provides plenty of bulletin-board material.

2026-27 SEC Preseason Media Poll & Honors

Predicted Order of Finish

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

SEC Player of the Year: Thomas Haugh, Florida

First Team All-SEC

• Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
• Juke Harris, Tennessee
• Thomas Haugh, Florida
• Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
• Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC

• Amari Allen, Alabama
• Alex Condon, Florida
• Milan Momcilovic, Kentucky
• Jordan Smith Jr., Arkansas
• Matas Vokietaitis, Texas

Third Team All-SEC

• PJ Haggerty, Texas A&M
• Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
• Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
• David Punch, Texas
• Billy Richmond III, Arkansas

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Florida leads SEC basketball poll as Kentucky slips