Ranking the true contenders for the 2025-26 SEC title

College basketball is less than a week away, and the best conference in the world looks poised to once again be an absolute war zone. There are six teams with legitimate Final Four aspirations for 2025-26, with a few more teams as dark horses to make it far in the tournament as well.

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Returning stars, high-level transfers, and prep talent, combined with the best coaches in the country make for a bloodbath of a conference slate that will truly prove who the contenders and pretenders are this year before March arrives.

Here are the top six teams in the SEC, and by extension, the teams with the best shots to make noise on the national stage.

1. Florida Gators

The defending National Champions may have lost three stars to the NBA in Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard, but with Todd Golden‘s program, there is no rebuild – simply a reload.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Boogie Fland, Sophomore (transfer, Arkansas)
• G Xaivian Lee, Senior (transfer, Princeton)
• F Thomas Haugh, Junior
• F Alex Condon, Junior
• C Reuben Chinyelu, Senior

The Gators bring back their trio of bigs in Haugh, Condon, and Chinyelu, all of whom are 6-foot-9 or taller and projected to start for Golden’s squad. This will help make up for the lack of size in Florida’s back court, as Lee is 6-foot-4 and Fland is 6-foot-2. The balance between both sides of the ball will make the Gators formidable once again. Bench pieces like freshmen Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram, plus experienced 7-footer Micah Handlogten gives Golden all the weapons he needs to make a run at a second consecutive championship.

2. Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Pope’s high-flying offense will take a step forward this season with some returners and some new personnel, with additional pieces from the portal that will help make them a fearsome defensive unit, and one of the most tournament-ready teams in the entire country.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Jaland Lowe*, Junior (transfer, Pitt)
• G Denzel Aberdeen, Senior (transfer, Florida)
• G Otega Oweh, Senior
• F Mouhamed Dioubate, Junior (transfer, Alabama)
• C Malachi Moreno, Freshman
  * Lowe suffered an injury preseason and may miss time

The Wildcats sport an incredibly deep roster on top of the sheer talent of their starting five – players not mentioned here, like potential top-five pick Jayden Quaintance (center; out until January), Brandon Garrison (center), Kam Williams (wing), Jasper Johnson (point guard), Andrija Jelavic (power forward), and Braydon Hawthorne (wing) make Kentucky a team that can legitimately run 10 deep in any given game, which is crucial to Pope’s five-out, high-tempo offense.

If not for the Gators getting the benefit of the doubt, Kentucky would be my favorite to take the SEC.

3. Tennessee Volunteers

Though the Vols have yet to make Final Four in program history, they have as good a chance this year as any given their use of the transfer portal and additions from the high school ranks. Known as a defensive team primarily given Rick Barnes is in charge of the program, Tennessee aims to be a high-scoring team this season to keep up with conference foes like Kentucky.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Senior (transfer, Maryland)
• G Amaree Abram, Senior (transfer, Louisiana Tech)
• F Nate Ament, Freshman
• F Jaylen Carey, Junior (transfer, Vanderbilt)
• C Felix Okpara, Senior

Ament is one of the highest-rated draft prospects this entire cycle, and outside of the unanimous top three players (Darryn Peterson, Kansas; Cameron Boozer, Duke; AJ Dybansta, BYU), is considered by some to be the freshman with the highest ceiling. Gillespie and Abram make up an elite back court that combines scoring from both, distribution from Gillespie, and perimeter rebounding from Abram.

4. Auburn Tigers

Despite a massive shakeup as head coach Bruce Pearl left the program, replaced by his son Steven, the Auburn roster is absolutely loaded with talent at multiple positions. Had they returned the elder Pearl, Auburn might be even higher on this list.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Tahaad Pettiford, Sophomore
• G Kevin Overton, Junior (transfer, Texas Tech)
• F Keyshawn Hall, Senior (transfer, Central Florida)
• F Filip Jovic, Freshman
• C KeShawn Murphy, Senior (transfer, Mississippi State)

Auburn’s bench is also stacked with elite players like highly touted junior college prospect Abdul Bashir and Division II prospect Elyjah Freeman, the second of which is already being talked about as a potential first-round draft pick along with his teammate Pettiford. Hall was one of the best scorers in the country last season, and Murphy was one of the best defensive bigs in the entire SEC last year with MSU.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

Basketball genius Nate Oats has another talented group for 2025-26, and will try to recreate the magic of 2023-24 and return to the Final Four behind the brilliance of his offensive scheming. He certainly has the team to make another run at the third weekend this year, given the return of a key piece in point guard Labaron Philon.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Labaron Philon, Sophomore
• G Aden Holloway, Junior
• G Houston Mallette, Senior
• F Taylor Bol Bowen, Junior (transfer, Florida State)
• C Aiden Sherrell, Sophomore

They also have elite players off the bench in former five-star recruit Jalil Bethea (Miami) and wing Latrell Wrightsell. On top of this, they added four 4-star recruits in one of the best classes in the SEC this season. Alabama’s talent level is on par with anyone not named Florida or Kentucky, and will have plenty of opportunities to make a run during SEC play and prove themselves.

6. Arkansas Razorbacks

John Calipari‘s squad is beginning to look like his old Kentucky teams in the way it’s powered by a freshman back court. The Razorbacks also took great advantage of the transfer portal and added some serious talent to build out a roster that could compete for an SEC Title.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Darius Acuff, Freshman
• G DJ Wagner, Junior
• G/F Karter Knox, Sophomore
• F Trevon Brazile, Senior
• F Malique Ewin, Senior (transfer, Florida State)

They also have an additional five-star recruit in guard Meleek Thomas, as well as sophomore guard Billy Richmond, freshman wing Isaiah Sealy, and South Carolina center Nick Pringle. Despite being ranked sixth on this list, they have a very legitimate shot at winning the conference behind their guard play and depth. If they play with the classic Calipari swagger, Arkansas could be playing in the Final Four despite being ranked last in my “contenders” category.