The five dark horses for the 2025-26 SEC men's basketball title

I discussed the obvious contenders for the 2025-26 SEC belt yesterday, but there are still a few other teams that the top schools will have to deal with en route to the championship. Some of them will be competitive; some of them won’t be. But that’s why we play the games.

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Here are teams 7 through 11 in my SEC men’s basketball preview.

7. Ole Miss Rebels

There may not be a more polarizing figure among Texas basketball faithful than the one that leads the Ole Miss Rebels program. Chris Beard, who was fired by Texas for cause in December of 2022, had already created an elite culture in Austin and the results were showing on the court in just his second season at the helm.

Since then, Beard has revitalized a once bottom-dwelling Mississippi program and has them squarely in the mix for the “best of the rest” in the SEC outside of the established elite.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Kezza Giffa, Senior (High Point)
• G Ilias Kamardine, Freshman (France)
• W AJ Storr, Senior (Kansas)
• F Malik Dia, Senior
• F James Scott, Junior (Louisville)

They also added guard Travis Perry (Kentucky), forward Corey Chest (LSU) and freshman blue-chip forward prospect Niko Bundalo. Ole Miss will typically be stout defensively and should be riding high after beating up on preseason no. 2 Houston in a not-so-secret scrimmage, 70-56.

No matter your opinion of Beard, there is no doubt he can coach. Ole Miss, at the very least, will be a tough out in the tournament.

8. Oklahoma Sooners

Talk about a twin-spin from hell – Oklahoma and Ole Miss back to back on this list?

The Sooners, despite losing dynamic combo guard Jeremiah Fears to the NBA Draft (No. 7 overall, New Orleans Pelicans), reloaded at several different positions with one of the best portal hauls in America. It wasn’t just productive because of the star power – the pieces fit Porter Moser‘s system, but more importantly, the players fit with each other.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Xzayvier Brown, Junior (Saint Joseph’s)
• G Nijel Pack, Senior (Miami)
• F Derrion Reid, Sophomore (Alabama)
• F Tae Davis, Senior (Notre Dame)
• F Mohamed Wague, Senior

You may remember Pack for his multiple electric performances against the Longhorns at both Kansas State and at Miami in the Elite Eight (sorry for the PTSD). He averaged 13.9 points and 4.3 assists last season while Brown led St. Joe’s in scoring (17.6 points) and distribution (4.3 assists) despite playing with NBA forward Rasheer Fleming, who was drafted 31st overall this summer.

Reid was a five-star recruit coming out of Prolific Prep two summers ago and now takes his talents from Tuscaloosa to Norman where he will see a jump in role importance and playing time. The Sooners have a solid starting five and some decent depth, and when Moser has the right players for his system he can be an effective coach.

9. Vanderbilt Commodores

The ‘Dores are looking to lean into the consistency they’ve had since Mark Byington arrived on campus and supplanted Jerry Stackhouse, whose era was a massive failure on all accounts. Vanderbilt finished 20-13 last year in Byington’s first season and appeared in the AP Top 25 at one point, eventually losing a heartbreaker to 7-seed St. Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Projected lineup:

• G Frankie Collins, Graduate Senior (TCU)
• G Tyler Harris, Junior (Washington)
• F Tyler Nickel, Senior
• F Devin McGlockton, Senior
• F Jalen Washington, Senior (North Carolina)

Vanderbilt has depth. Though only three returners are on the roster, they did an excellent job in the portal adding guards Duke Miles (Oklahoma) and George Kimble III (Eastern Kentucky) as well as several bigs, like Mason Nicholson (Jacksonville State) and AK Okereke (Cornell). Wing Mike James (NC State) was another big addition.

10. Texas Longhorns

The moment you’ve all been waiting for. Seeing “Texas Longhorns” in an article about the whole SEC is like when you’re at a graduation you don’t care about and you finally hear your kid’s name called (hopefully yours comes earlier in the alphabet than “W”).

Sean Miller‘s first season at the helm for Texas will not be an easy one – hell, the first game is against the Duke Blue Devils in Charlotte, which is just over two hours from Durham. Things don’t get any easier when the conference slate begins, so the Horns will have their work cut out for them from day one.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Tramon Mark, Senior
• G Chendall Weaver, Senior
• F Cam Heide, Junior (Purdue)
• F Dailyn Swain, Junior (Xavier)
• C Lassina Traore, Senior (Xavier)

Other players of note for Miller’s team are 7-footer Matas Vokietaitis (Florida Atlantic), guard Simeon Wilcher (St. John’s), guard Jordan Pope, forward Nic Codie, and freshman international forward Declan Duru (Germany/Real Madrid). They had a nice win over a talented SMU team in a secret scrimmage, 89-83, and will look to build on that momentum in their first game against a top-three team in the country on November 4.

11. Texas A&M Aggies

Like the Longhorns, Texas A&M enters the 2025-26 season with a new head coach in Bucky McMillan. McMillan saw great success at Samford and takes over for Buzz Williams after he left for Maryland. Though the Aggies have essentially an entirely new roster, it is certainly not one devoid of talent.

Projected starting lineup:

• G Jacari Lane, Senior (North Alabama)
• G Pop Isaacs, Senior (Creighton)
• G Rylan Griffen, Senior (Kansas)
• F Mackenzie Mgbako, Junior (Indiana)
• C Federiko Federiko, Graduate Senior (Texas Tech)

McMillan and company also added USC forward Rashaun Agee, guards Josh Holloway (Samford) and Marcus Hill (NC State), and Southern Illinois guard Ali Dibba. Though there will be a slew of new players in College Station, look for Texas A&M to compete at a higher level than some might expect – they are experienced and balanced between scoring and perimeter defense, with Federiko providing rim protection as well.