Kentucky Named Preseason SEC Favorites

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SEC) – Kentucky was predicted to win the 2019 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.

The Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite for the 14th time since the 1998-99 season.

Tennessee junior forward Grant Williams was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Auburn’s Bryce Brown; Florida’s Jalen Hudson; Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson, Reid Travis & PJ Washington; LSU’s Tremont Waters, Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon; South Carolina’s Chris Silva and Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.

Travis, Waters, Silva, Williams and Arkansas’ Daniel Gafford were each All-SEC First Team selections. Brown, Hudson, Washington, Weatherspoon and Schofield were second team picks along with Auburn’s Jared Harper and Missouri’s Jontay Porter. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team. Ties were not broken.

The 2018-19 campaign begins November 6, with conference play set to begin January 5. The 2019 SEC Tournament will be March 13-17 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

Preseason Media Poll

1. Kentucky
2. Tennessee
3. Auburn
4. Mississippi State
5. Florida
6. LSU
7. Alabama
8. Vanderbilt
9. Missouri
10. Arkansas
11. South Carolina
12. Texas A&M
13. Georgia
14. Ole Miss

First Team All-SEC
Daniel Gafford – Arkansas
Reid Travis – Kentucky
Tremont Waters – LSU
Chris Silva – South Carolina
Grant Williams – Tennessee

Second Team All-SEC
Bryce Brown – Auburn
Jared Harper – Auburn
Jalen Hudson – Florida
PJ Washington – Kentucky
Quinndary Weatherspoon – Mississippi State
Jontay Porter – Missouri
Admiral Schofield – Tennessee

SEC Player of the Year
Grant Williams – Tennessee