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TENNESSEE VOLS BASKETBALL: Media picks UT to finish fourth
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- TENNESSEE VOLS BASKETBALL: Media picks UT to finish fourth
The SEC announced Monday afternoon the results of the men's basketball preseason voting by its select panel of league and national media members.
Tennessee took fourth place in the SEC preseason poll, behind only first-place Florida, second-place Texas and third-place Arkansas.
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This is the seventh year in a row Tennessee earned a top-four spot in the SEC preseason poll, dating to 2020-21. No other team in the league has a streak longer than two years (Florida). Additionally, Arkansas (five) and Kentucky (five) are the only others with four-plus total top-four nods in that span.
Furthermore, this is the ninth consecutive year Tennessee has been picked in the SEC preseason top five, dating to 2018-19. Alabama (seven), Arkansas (five) and Florida (two) are the only other schools with even multi-year streaks. In addition, no other programs have even earned eight total nods in that time, with Alabama (seven), Kentucky (seven) and Arkansas (six) the lone trio also at six-plus.
Previously, Tennessee was voted third in 2025-26, third in 2024-25, first in 2023-24, third in 2022-23, fourth in 2021-22, first in 2020-21, fifth in 2019-20 and second in 2018-19.
Individually, Tennessee junior guard Juke Harris collected Preseason First Team All-SEC recognition from the media.
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The 6-foot-7, 205-pounder from Salisbury, N.C., is the only league newcomer who made the cut for the five-man list. He is joined by Florida's Rueben Chinyelu, Florida's Thomas Haugh, Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard and Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner, all of whom are entering at least their third year in the conference.
This is the fourth time in the last five years a Volunteer garnered first-team status. Zakai Zeigler received the nod in 2024-25, while Santiago Vescovi did so in 2023-24 and 2022-23. It is also the sixth time in the last nine seasons a Tennessee player picked up first-team plaudits, with John Fulkerson claiming the honor in 2020-21 and Grant Williams earning it in 2018-19.
A Second Team All-ACC selection and the ACC Most Improved Player last season at Wake Forest, Harris averaged 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game as a sophomore. His 750 total points ranked sixth nationally and he was the 30th player—32nd instance—in ACC history to reach that mark.
Harris and the Volunteers open the 2026-27 campaign Thursday at 7 p.m. with an exhibition affair against Xavier.
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Preseason First Team All-SEC
Rueben Chinyelu, FloridaThomas Haugh, Florida Juke Harris, TennesseeJosh Hubbard, Mississippi StateTyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
Preseason Second Team All-SEC
Amari Allen, AlabamaAlex Condon, FloridaMilan Momcilovic, KentuckyJordan Smith Jr., ArkansasMatas Vokietaitis, Texas
Preseason Third Team All-SEC
P.J. Haggerty, Texas A&MMalachi Moreno, KentuckyTahaad Pettiford, AuburnDavid Punch, TexasBilly Richmond III, Arkansas
Preseason SEC Player of the YearThomas Haugh, Florida
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Florida2. Texas3. Arkansas4. Tennessee5. Alabama6. Vanderbilt7. Kentucky8. Missouri9. Texas A&M10. Auburn11. Georgia12. Oklahoma13. Ole Miss14. LSU15. Mississippi State16. South Carolina
