Courtesy of Mike Cawood
FAYETTEVILLE – Leading into SEC Basketball Media Days this week, the league announced the media’s preseason All-SEC teams, which included Jordan Smith Jr. (second team) and Billy Richmond III (third team), and the predicted order of finish, with the Razorbacks coming in at third.
Florida was predicted to repeat as SEC Champion and Florida’s Thomas Haugh was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Alex Condon (Florida), Richmond and Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt) also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.
Smith, a freshman from Washington, D.C., was the nation’s consensus National High School Player of the Year last season and was listed as the #1 freshman in the SEC by the Field of 68. Smith was joined on the Field of 68 top 10 SEC freshman list by Miikka Muurinen (#3), JJ Andrews (#5) and Abdou Toure (#8). Smith and Muurinen were also on Dick Vitale’s preseason national Diaper Dandies team of 9 players. This summer at the Baha Mar Summer League in The Bahamas, Smith led the team in assists and steals, while recording a triple-double versus Carleton University with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Richmond, who participated in the 2026 NBA Draft Combine but elected to return to Arkansas for his junior season. He was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team last season and, in SEC games only, ranked second in the league in field goal percentage at 57.4% (97-of-169). Richmond played a key role in Arkansas’s late-season surge as he scored in double figures in 12 of the last 15 games with five straight 20-point games. He helped Arkansas win the 2026 SEC Tournament, scoring 18 points in the title game with five rebounds and three assists. Richmond doubled his point production from his freshman (5.7) to sophomore (11.2) seasons and nearly doubled his assists (49 to 74), blocked shots (15 to 30) and steals (19 to 41) between his first and second years.
Arkansas will participate in SEC Media Days on Wednesday and appear on the SEC Network set from 4:50-5:15 pm (CT). Head coach John Calipari will go first, followed by Richmond and Cooper Bowser.
Arkansas officially opens the season on Nov. 3 (Tuesday) with the first-ever meeting with UAPB.
Prior to the season opener, Arkansas will play two home exhibition games.
First, Naismith Hall of Famers John Calipari and Mark Few will unofficially start the season with an exhibition game between Arkansas and Gonzaga on Oct. 24 (Saturday) in Bud Walton Arena. Tip time is scheduled for 3 pm and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus (SECN+). Four days later (Wed – Oct. 28), Memphis comes to Bud Walton Arena for an exhibition at 7 pm on SECN+. The exhibition games are not part of the 2026-27 season ticket package. Tickets for those games can be purchased by CLICKING HERE.
SEC Media Preseason All-SEC
First Team All-SEC
Rueben Chinyelu – Florida
Juke Harris – Tennessee
Thomas Haugh – Florida
Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State
Tyler Tanner – Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Amari Allen – Alabama
Alex Condon – Florida
Milan Momcilovic – Kentucky
Jordan Smith Jr. – Arkansas
Matas Vokietaitis – Texas
Third Team All-SEC
PJ Haggerty – Texas A&M
Malachi Moreno – Kentucky
Tahaad Pettiford – Auburn
David Punch – Texas
Billy Richmond III – Arkansas
SEC Player of the Year
Thomas Haugh – Florida
Predicted Order of Finish
1 Florida
2 Texas
3 Arkansas
4 Tennessee
5 Alabama
6 Vanderbilt
7 Kentucky
8 Missouri
9 Texas A&M
10 Auburn
11 Georgia
12 Oklahoma
13 Ole Miss
14 LSU
15 Mississippi State
16 South Carolina
