College Basketball is back and if you haven’t heard, the SEC is king.

No, really.

With national championship contender Alabama, 9 ranked teams to begin the season, and a roster of coaches that includes 2 current and at least 2 future Hall of Famers, the SEC has a legitimate claim at being the nation’s best basketball conference in 2024-25.

“A decade ago, Billy Donovan and I had to go around the country preaching the gospel of the SEC,” John Calipari, one of the SEC’s current Hall of Fame coaches and now the head coach at Arkansas, told SDS at SEC Media Days. “We’d go and promise there was more to the league than Kentucky and Florida. All the sudden, we are the ‘it’ league in basketball, too. You look at the investment. The facilities. The  passion of the fan bases. The great coaches. The home sites in this league. Ridiculous. Coaches and players all at the top of their game. It’s incredible.”

The SEC has never finished No. 1 among power conferences in the KenPom era. This season could change that.

“It’s the best league in America. Period. You play a team picked to finish 12th and it’s a dog fight. Nowhere else is that the case,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard told SDS last month. “It’s exceptional to compete in that environment.”

To become the best league, the SEC had to collect the best players. From Wooden Award candidates like Johni Broome of Auburn and Mark Sears of Alabama to Final Four veterans like Lamont Butler of Kentucky and Florida’s Alijah Martin, the talent in the SEC is magnificent. Almost every team has a star, and in a league where picking 5 great players used to be a genuine challenge, it is now hard to limit the list to 15 great ones. Nevertheless, SDS did its best.

Here is our list of the top 15 players in the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 season.

15. Dre Davis, Guard (Ole Miss)

Davis is a perfect fit for a Chris Beard team: big (6-6), tough, physical, switchable, and a kid who plays with relentless energy. After powering Seton Hall to the NIT title, Davis transferred to Ole Miss, where he’ll play 4 different positions this season while offering the type of defense and rebounding last year’s team lacked. He can score too, of course, averaging 15 points per game while becoming 1 of just 6 Big East players since 2010-11 to average 15 or more points, shoot 50% or better from the field, and 80% or better from the free-throw line in conference play. A potential breakout star who could rank higher on this list if the Rebels make good on a preseason Top 25 ranking.

14. Asa Newell, Forward (Georgia)

One of 4 players to receive SEC Player of the Year votes in the preseason media poll, Newell is the lone freshman on our preseason list, edging other elite recruits like Tre Johnson of Texas and Boogie Fland of Arkansas. At 6-10 with the quickness of a guard, Newell is a menace as a help defender and rim protector. He will challenge for SEC All-Defensive Team honors immediately. The question is what he’ll offer on offense. He’s outstanding inside already, as long as he’s leveraging his side and using his left hand. To truly become All-American good, he’ll need to hit jump shots without space. For now, Mike White will likely pick and pop him some, content to allow him to grow as a stationary catch and shoot player when he ventures outside the paint.

13. Josh Hubbard, Guard (Mississippi State)

One of the most fun players to watch in the country, Hubbard is the SEC player who most epitomizes “Shooters Shoot.” Hubbard averaged 17 points and shot 35% from beyond the arc as a freshman for Chris Jans a season ago. Hubbard’s 478 shots in 27 minutes per game ranked 11th in the country. At least he knows why he’s on the floor, am I right?

Miss State has more help in 2024-25, so I don’t think Hubbard takes 34% of Miss State’s shots again as he did last season. But when he gets hot, as he did when he dropped 34 against Kentucky, he’s a game-changing talent.

12. Alijah Martin, Guard (Florida)

Desperate to fix a defense that finished a disappointing 94th in KenPom defensive efficiency last season, Todd Golden and his staff went into the portal and inked one of the best on-ball defenders in America in Alijah Martin.

A fiery competitor who plays with immense physicality on both ends, Martin was the Most Outstanding Player in the East Regional in Florida Atlantic’s Final Four run in 2023, and he dropped 26 points in a heartbreaking 1-point loss to San Diego State in the national semifinals.

Martin has been named to All-Defensive teams in 3 consecutive seasons and is healthy again this year after injuries limited his 2023-24 season with the Owls. The best transfer people haven’t discussed much in this league.

11. Mark Mitchell, Forward (Missouri)

Mitchell transferred back home to Missouri after 2 seasons at Duke where he started and earned a reputation as the ultimate glue guy for the Blue Devils. Sure, the 3-point jump shot looks funny and Mitchell doesn’t always seem like scoring comes naturally. But the former McDonald’s All-American still posted an effective field goal percentage of 56.1 (2nd on a Duke team that went to the Elite 8) and played magnificent defense, ranking 3rd in on ball points per possession against, per Hoops Lens. Back home with a more defined role, Mitchell will thrive for Dennis Gates and the Tigers in 2024-25.

10. Lamont Butler, Guard (Kentucky)

It’s astounding Butler didn’t find his way onto All-SEC teams in the preseason media poll, considering his pedigree as a winner, lockdown defender and shot-maker during his time at San Diego State. Butler hit one of the most iconic shots in Final Four history, and the odd effect of that seems to be people forget that he’s one of the best on-ball defenders in America.

“You do not score on him if he’s guarding you 1-on-1, OK?” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher told SDS. “I have not seen a player take as much pride on that end of the floor as he does. It’s infectious, too.”

Jaxson Robinson and Butler will join forces to give Kentucky the SEC’s most underappreciated backcourt.

9. Grant Nelson, Forward (Alabama)

Nelson should benefit immensely this season from the addition of  Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi, who will give the Crimson Tide the rim protector they need to keep Nelson away from the basket more often in 2024-25. When Nelson gets pinned deep, he lacks the physicality to avoid foul trouble when banging with other big men. As long as he’s farther away from the hoop, Nelson is a versatile mismatch nightmare who can shoot the 3 (30 makes in 2024), attack a closeout and back down a smaller defender. A good passer, Nelson will also have an arsenal of elite shooters to pass to when he commands help.

8. Matthew Murrell, Guard (Ole Miss)

Murrell does everything, as evidenced by the fact that a season ago, the former top-50 recruit led Ole Miss in scoring, 3-point field goals and steals. His 10 thefts against Troy last December were a program record, and Murrell finished the season with 50 swipes, a bright spot on the SEC’s worst defense. If Murrell can replicate his 40% mark from beyond the arc last season, he should earn the first- or second-team All-SEC honors that eluded him last year.

“He’s a guy we think can be All-SEC defensive team if he commits to help defense away from the ball,” Beard told SDS. “He turned down a host of 2-way contract deals to come back and show he could be consistent. We know he will score. Now he will lead.”

One of the most explosive offensive players in the SEC when he’s hot, Murrell has All-American ceiling.

7. Wade Taylor IV, Guard (Texas A&M)

“In the annals of Texas A&M basketball, it will be hard to find a guy better than 4,” Aggies coach Buzz Williams told SDS at SEC Media Day. “He is competitive, curious, dynamic, determined. A joy to coach.”

Almost no player in the country carries a heavier workload. Taylor IV took a staggering 585 shots last season, including 302 3-pointers. That represented 31% of Texas A&M’s shots overall and almost 40% of the team’s makes from distance. When he’s on a heater, as 4 was in Texas A&M’s NCAA Tournament win over Nebraska, where he made 7 three pointers and scored 29 points, the Aggies are a force of nature. When he misses shots, the Aggies are fairly ordinary, and may be even more so without 4’s sidekick, Boots Radford, who is gone to graduation.

6. Johnell Davis, Guard (Arkansas)

Do not be surprised if Davis plays 35-40 minutes a night for John Calipari’s first Arkansas team. That’s how dynamic Davis is offensively.

Davis has an outstanding burst with the basketball, which makes him extremely hard to guard given his prowess as a 3-point shooter, where he connected on 41.4% of his 3s a season ago at FAU. If you guard him too closely, he’s excellent at blowing by and getting to the free-throw line, which he did at an outstanding rate (5 fouls drawn per 40 minutes) in 2023-24. He can be a bit turnover prone (18.7% turnover rate), but with Boogie Fland and DJ Wagner there to allow him to play off the ball a bit more than he did at FAU, where he wasn’t a point guard but led the Owls in on-ball usage, that could improve in 2024-25 despite the jump to the more talented SEC. With Final Four experience and a penchant for the big moment, this is the biggest star on a roster full of big names in Fayetteville.

5. Collin Murray-Boyles, Forward (South Carolina)

By March of last season, it was difficult to find 5 players in the SEC more valuable than Murray-Boyles was for the Gamecocks. The future lottery pick capped his freshman campaign with 9 double-digit scoring outings in his final 10 games, including 15 and 11 in a home win over No. 24 Florida and another double double (11 and 12) in a nip and tuck loss to Tennessee that decided the regular season SEC title.

He was also ruthlessly efficient, making 9-of-10 shots in a win over Miss State, 11-of-15 in a rout of Arkansas, 8-of-11 in a win over Ole Miss, and 14-of-17 in a 31-point, 7-rebound decimation of Vanderbilt. All the offense and rebounding was accompanied by his ability to guard 5 spots on the floor and avoid foul trouble. A brilliant player who is only getting better.

4. Zakai Zeigler, Guard (Tennessee)

The frontrunner for SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Zeigler should demonstrate that he’s more than capable of handling a heavier scoring load in 2024-25 in the absence of the departed Dalton Knecht, the SEC Player of the Year last season and a Consensus All-American. Zeigler is also the leader of a Tennessee program that has won a regular season SEC title (2024) and a SEC Tournament championship in the senior’s time in Knoxville. A steady point guard who ranks fourth among returning SEC players in Points Above Replacement, per Bart Torvik, Zeigler will have a different set of demands without Knecht, but a strong close a season ago suggests he’s ready to meet the challenge.

3. Walter Clayton Jr., Guard (Florida)

Florida’s sensational scorer enters his second season in Gainesville after transferring from Iona, where he was an All-Conference guard for Rick Pitino. Clayton Jr. is a prolific shooter (36.5% from deep) with a lightning quick release who can also bully you downhill with the physicality and quickness that made him a highly sought after football recruit.

Clayton Jr.’s ability to make shots in space or beat defenders off the bounce helped the Gators become a top-15 offense in the country a season ago. He entered the NBA Draft process and was told to improve as a defender and limit his turnovers, which he’s taken to heart throughout the offseason. If he takes a step up from the guy who was one of the SEC’s best 3 players above replacement in SEC play last season, per Torvik, he’ll have a chance to make a name for himself — and some NBA money — in March.

2. Johni Broome, Center (Auburn)

Would it surprise us if Broome won the Wooden Award, honoring the nation’s best player?

Not even a little bit.

For now, the Auburn star will settle for preseason All-American accolades, a huge NIL deal and No. 2 on this list.

Put plainly, Broome does everything and most of it well. He’s a tenacious post defender who is comfortable guarding 4 or 5 spots on the floor. He is a dominant rim protector with a block rate around 10%. He is a highly technical, elite rebounder on both ends of the floor. He hits 35% of his 3s and should shoot more of them this season, having earned Bruce Pearl’s trust. He’s a plus passer. He draws 6.2 fouls per game, getting to the line at a high rate. KenPom’s 3rd-most valuable player in college basketball a season ago, there’s not a glaring weakness in Broome’s game.

He’s also an emotional and fiery leader, the guy opposing student sections hate and Neville Arena adores. One of the best players in the sport. An even better person off the floor. Appointment television.

1. Mark Sears, Guard (Alabama)

One of the national favorites for the Wooden Award, along with North Carolina’s RJ Davis, Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Sears is a special talent and scorer who I think will lead Alabama to the program’s first national championship next April.

Sears made 95 3-pointers at a 44% clip a season ago, stupendous numbers given the volume and range of his attempts. He’s also masterful at getting into the paint and getting to the line, making him the perfect weapon in Nate Oats’ high-percentage or high yield-only offense.

Sears will also guard better in 2024-25 thanks to the improved interior presence Alabama acquired in the transfer portal.

“I’ll have less help duty,” Sears told SDS last month. “I won’t have to dig down as much or fire the post. It means I can stay in a stance, apply ball pressure. It will be a better year for me guarding the ball, I know that.”

If it is, Sears will be the most complete player on the most complete team.

He’ll also be the SEC Player of the Year.