Three Razorbacks named preseason All-SEC by coaches
Three Arkansas Razorbacks were selected to the preseason All-SEC Third Team by the league’s coaches on Thursday: guards Darius Acuff Jr. and DJ Wagner, along with wing Karter Knox.
Wagner and Knox made the cut after also being named to the SEC’s Third Team by the media earlier this month. The Razorbacks are tied with defending national champion Florida for the most selections of the league’s 16 teams.
Acuff, the Razorbacks’ top-rated recruit from the 2025 class, was also named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award and Knox is on the watch list for the Julius Erving Award.
Wagner is one of the team’s veterans for second-year head coach John Calipari after following Cal from Kentucky to Arkansas. As the only player who started all 36 games for the Hogs last season, Wagner averaged 11.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and led the team with 3.6 assists per game.
While appearing in all 36 games with 24 starts, Knox averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He was also just the ninth freshman in program history to reach 300+ points, 100+ rebonds, 30+ assists, 20+ steals and 10+ blocks, per HogStats.
Acuff, who was rated the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2025 class per the Rivals Industry Rating, earned a plethora of national honors including being named the 2025 Allen Iverson National Player of the Year, EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American and Iverson Classic All-American Game MVP, among many others.
After defeating Cincinnati and Memphis in preseason scrimmages, the Razorbacks tip off the 2025-26 regular season against the Southern Jaguars on Nov. 3 inside Bud Walton Arena.
Coaches Preseason All-SEC Selections
First Team
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Alex Condon, Florida
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Second Team
Boogie Fland, Florida
Malik Dia, Ole Miss
Mark Mitchell, Missouri
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
Third Team
Aden Holloway, Alabama
Darius Acuff Jr, Arkansas
Karter Knox, Arkansas
DJ Wagner, Arkansas
Thomas Haugh, Florida
Preseason Player of the Year
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
More HawgBeat Hoops Coverage
• ESPN believes Arkansas to be Final Four contender
• Baba Oladotun’s father recaps Arkansas visit: “You can’t be in that environment and not be great”
• Three takeaways from Arkansas’ two exhibition wins
• HawgBeat Hoops Mailbag: 10-28
