Jon Rothstein gives his preseason All-SEC team

The 2024-25 season was a breakout for the SEC that had been a long time coming. Thanks to a league full of the game’s best players, SEC teams were able to put 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament, with one of those teams, Florida, winning it all.

Now, the conference is looking to reload with talent and repeat that success in the 2025-26 season. Some key players have moved on. However, other returning players are looking to break out and become stars. There are also some intriguing new faces to the SEC as well. With that, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein broke down what he sees at the top and shared his preseason All-SEC team.

Rothstein has a rule that he’s only putting five players on his preseason All-SEC team. That’s going to leave off plenty of other talented players. He also noted how tough it was to choose just five players. So, there are plenty of stars who either aren’t on this list or will be looking to prove they belong starting next season.

Mark Mitchell, Missouri

Mark Mitchell is going into his second season with the Missouri Tigers and his fourth overall in college basketball. It ended up being the best season of his career too. He’d average 13.9 points. 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He did that on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent shooting from three-point range.

Mitchell would be a key reason why Missouri flipped from being winless in SEC play to 10-8 in the conference and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Rothstein cited that in his praise for Mitchell. He said, “You gotta have Mark Mitchell on from Missouri. He had a big year last year for Missouri, going to the NCAA Tournament. He’s on.”

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

The 2025-26 season is going to be the second for Otega Oweh at Kentucky. He previously spent the two years before that at Oklahoma, though that was prior to their inclusion in the SEC. With the Wildcats, Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He did that while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range.

At one point, Oweh had entered the 2025 NBA Draft, though he’d withdraw his name after going through a large portion of the process. Now, he’s back at a potentially dangerous Kentucky. There, head coach Mark Pope is happy to have him back, having said, “He’s going to help us win a ton of games.” At least, that’s the expectation as he improves for next year’s NBA Draft.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

Ja’Kobi Gillespie is now going into his fourth college season. However, it’s his first with Tennessee or in the SEC at all. He previously played for Belmont and Maryland. Last year, with Maryland, he averaged 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Gillespie also shot 45.3 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range.

Rothstein would emphasize that he feels Gillespie’s time at Maryland proves that he’s capable of competing. That was over at least one close call. Rothstein explained, “You could argue for Labaron Philon. He was really, really close. Gillespie gets the nod over him because of what he did on Maryland.”

Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

The 2025-26 season will be the second for Tahaad Pettiford at Auburn. He was a major reason for their success last year and wants to build on that moving forward. He ended up producing 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game last season. That was on 42.1 percent shooting from the field and 36.6 percent shooting from three-point range.

It’s been a difficult offseason off the court for Pettiford. He was arrested for DUI in July, which he has since taken full responsibility for. Still, as long as he can put that behind him successfully, then he should be able to thrive once again with Auburn.

Boogie Fland, Florida

Boogie Fland now finds himself at Florida. This comes after appearing in 21 games last season for Arkansas, helping the Razorbacks in their first season under John Calipari. During that time, he averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. He did that while averaging 37.9 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from three-point range.

Prior to his freshman season, Fland had been looked at as a potential lottery pick. A hand injury, however, hurt his stock, and he slipped and ultimately withdrew from the draft this spring. Instead, he joined up with Florida and is going to look to make another national championship run.