Kentucky landed two names on the preseason SEC lists Monday, and both of them came with some real weight.
Wing Milan Momcilovic was placed on the All-SEC Second Team, while center Malachi Moreno earned Third Team recognition. The Wildcats also checked in at seventh in the league’s preseason projected order of finish, according to SEC and national media voters.
Moreno’s selection follows his All-SEC Freshman nod in 2025-26, while Momcilovic arrives in Lexington after making the All-Big 12 Second Team at Iowa State. Kentucky ended up as one of three programs with two players on the preseason all-conference teams, joining Arkansas and Texas. Florida led the way with three.
At the top of the board, Florida’s Thomas Haugh was voted SEC Preseason Player of the Year. He also headlined a Gators group that featured the most all-league selections in the conference. Alex Condon was the other Florida player to draw Player of the Year votes, along with Billy Richmond III of Arkansas and Tyler Tanner of Vanderbilt.
The full First Team included Rueben Chinyelu of Florida, Juke Harris of Tennessee, Haugh, Josh Hubbard of Mississippi State and Tanner. On the Second Team, Momcilovic was joined by Amari Allen of Alabama, Condon, Jordan Smith Jr. of Arkansas and Matas Vokietaitis of Texas. The Third Team featured PJ Haggerty of Texas A&M, Moreno, Tahaad Pettiford of Auburn, David Punch of Texas and Richmond.
The preseason poll slotted Florida first, followed by Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina rounded out the rest of the predicted order.
The SEC Basketball Tipoff preview event is set for Oct. 13-14 in Birmingham, Alabama, and Kentucky coach Mark Pope will bring Momcilovic, Moreno and point guard Zoom Diallo as the program’s representatives.
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The broader SEC rankings also show how tight the race remains beneath the leagues heavyweights, with programs like Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida, Texas A&M and Missouri all carrying their own FPI numbers and projected paths. For Kentucky, the update matters because it reinforces that the LSU win was more than just a good night in Lexington, even if the real test is how the Wildcats build on it from here. [Read more 🡒]
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Now comes a different kind of challenge. Kentucky heads to Oklahoma on October 17 for the first conference meeting between the schools since the Sooners joined the SEC in 2024, and the timing could hardly be tougher, with Oklahoma fresh off an upset of then-No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry and sitting at 3-2. For Kentucky, this is the kind of road test that can tell you whether the rise is real or still just the latest surprise in a long SEC season. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Fans May Have Just Seen A Program-Changing Night
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The finish matched the atmosphere, with Kenny Mincheys two-point conversion delivering the winning play and setting off a celebration that spilled onto the field. The SEC later fined Kentucky $500,000 for the storming, a costly reminder of how rare and emotional the win felt for a fan base that has spent plenty of seasons waiting for a night like this. [Read more 🡒]