With last year’s stars gone, a new crop of talent is ready to battle for SEC Player of the Year — and one Kentucky guard could run away with it.
The SEC is entering the 2025-26 season minus a wave of last year’s top performers. Auburn’s Johni Broome, Alabama’s Mark Sears, Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier, and South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles — among others — are all gone, leaving the spotlight wide open. That means new faces (and a few returning killers) have a shot at the league’s most coveted individual prize: SEC Player of the Year.
Here are the three names leading the early race.
1. Otega Oweh – Kentucky
Kentucky fans, this one’s for you. Star guard Otega Oweh is perfectly positioned to own the SEC this season. The 6’4″ playmaker averaged 16.2 points (11th in the league), 4.7 rebounds, and shot 49.2% from the floor (5th in SEC) while hitting 35.5% from deep last year. Head coach Mark Pope has built this season’s roster around Oweh, who was already an All-SEC Second Team pick in a talent-loaded conference. With NBA scouts urging him to expand his all-around game — and the SEC’s biggest names now out of the picture — Oweh’s path to the throne has never been clearer.
2. Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State
At just 5’11”, Hubbard is a scoring machine who refuses to be overlooked. He put up 18.9 points per game last year (2nd in the SEC), while adding 3.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds. The volume from deep is ridiculous — 9.2 attempts a night — and his 34.5% success rate makes him a constant threat. Hubbard has the experience, the numbers, and the swagger to go shot-for-shot with anyone in the conference
3. Tahaad Pettiford – Auburn
Pettiford’s freshman year was solid, but his postseason was electric. Helping Auburn reach the Final Four, he averaged 11.6 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds on the year, but in the NCAA Tournament, he exploded with scoring games of 16, 23, and 20 before cooling off. That surge earned him a starting spot late in the season. With Johni Broome gone, Pettiford steps in as Auburn’s main returning weapon — and his sophomore jump could be massive.
The SEC is up for grabs, and these three are the names to watch. But if Otega Oweh lives up to the hype, he might not just win SEC Player of the Year — he could cement himself as the star of college basketball in 2025-26.
