KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The SEC released Monday morning the results of the men’s basketball preseason voting by its select panel of league and national media members.
Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason poll, behind only first-place Florida and second-place Kentucky.
This is the fourth year in a row the Volunteers garnered a top-three spot in the preseason media poll. Meanwhile, no other school in the league has even a multi-year streak or greater than two total such nods in that span.
Tennessee placed third in the 2024-25 preseason poll, first in the 2023-24 edition and third in the 2022-23 release.
Furthermore, this is the eighth consecutive year the Volunteers are in the top five of the SEC preseason media poll, dating to 2018-19. Only two other schools, Alabama (six) and Arkansas (five), have even a two-year streak, with neither matching Tennessee.
On the individual side of the SEC announcement, two Tennessee players received recognitions. Freshman forward Nate Ament and senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie both collected Preseason Second Team All-SEC accolades.
Tennessee was one of just two schools, alongside Florida, to place multiple players on the first- or second-team lists.
In addition, Ament was one of eight competitors to earn a vote for Preseason SEC Player of the Year, alongside Kentucky’s Otega Oweh (the honoree), Florida’s Alex Condon, Ole Miss’ Malik Dia, Florida’s Boogie Fland, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford.
A consensus five-star, top-four overall prospect, Ament is the 13th McDonald’s All-American in Tennessee history and the third top-five recruit. The 6-foot-10, 207-pounder from Manassas, Va., is the only freshman in the league who collected Preseason All-SEC distinction.
Gillespie was a Third Team All-Big Ten honoree last year at Maryland, where he averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 31.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder from nearby Greeneville, Tenn., notched a 45.3 percent clip from the field, a 40.7 percent mark from beyond the arc and an 86.2 percent ledger at the line.
Ament, Gillespie and the Volunteers begin the 2025-26 season with an Oct. 26 exhibition against Duke at Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Preseason First Team All-SEC
Alex Condon – Florida
Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State
Otega Oweh – Kentucky
Tahaad Pettiford – Auburn
Labaron Philon Jr. – Alabama
Preseason Second Team All-SEC
Nate Ament – Tennessee
Boogie Fland – Florida
Ja’Kobi Gillespie – Tennessee
Thomas Haugh – Florida
Mark Mitchell – Missouri
Third Team All-SEC
Malik Dia – Ole Miss
Aden Holloway – Alabama
Karter Knox – Arkansas
Jaland Lowe – Kentucky
D.J. Wagner – Arkansas
Preseason SEC Player of the Year
Otega Oweh – Kentucky
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Missouri
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas
10. Mississippi State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Oklahoma
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. LSU
16. South Carolina
