The SEC has become a conference loaded with talent every single year as programs from top to bottom dominate recruiting in both the transfer portal and the high school ranks. With more and more turnover than ever it can be difficult to know who the best players are, so here is a chance to get to know some of these newcomers–as well as some established returners the Gators will have to contend with again.
In advance of Florida basketball’s season, here is a list of the best players the Gators will go against in SEC play so you know what to expect and who to look out for.
Zakai Ziegler
Tennessee
Zakai Ziegler has been a thorn in Florida’s side ever since he entered college basketball as a freshman and was instantly effective, an impressive feat for a guard that stands at just 5’9”. Always an elite defender, Ziegler makes the life of the opposing point guard extremely difficult as he hounds them the entire length of the floor and a number of off nights from notable opponents can be attributed to his elite defense. Known as one of the best defenders in the country he has also steadily added to his offensive game and will look to take another step in his senior season.
Johni Broome
Auburn
Set to get preseason All-American votes, Auburn’s Johni Broome has haunted Florida since he chose the Tigers over them back in 2022. In his two SEC seasons Broome has been one of the best bigs in the league, culminating in last season where he averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while also being a mobile multi positional defender. Now entering his fifth season you might not be able to expect another massive leap, but even if he simply replicates what he did a year ago he’ll be one of the best players in the country.
Mark Sears
Alabama
Another player set to get preseason All-American votes is Alabama’s Mark Sears, except he might not just receive votes–he almost certainly will end up on the first team and maybe even get the honor of preseason player of the year. Sears is the engine behind Alabama’s turbo charged offense as evidenced by his outrageous statline from a year ago–21.5 points and 4.0 assists per game. This year Nate Oats is determined to improve the Crimson Tide’s defense and he has insulated Sears with some excellent athletes who will allow him to continue to focus on scoring the ball so you can look for him to have another spectacular season.
Arthur Kaluma
Texas
It’s time for our first SEC newcomer of the list–6’7” Arthur Kaluma. Kaluma started his career at Creighton and he was expected to take a huge leap between his freshman and sophomore season and when that didn’t happen he moved to Kansas State. There, he increased his scoring to 14.4 points per game, but the NBA attention he was receiving as a freshman had long since dried up. Now he’s looking for a change at Texas where he will be a featured part of their offense. Kaluma is an undersized post player, but one that uses that to his advantage by being quick off the dribble and exposing slower-footed bigs. While he might be undersized he’s got extremely long arms, a strong frame, and solid athleticism which more than makes up for it.
Wade Taylor IV
Texas A&M
Every year in college Wade Taylor has added to his game and became even better, though that will be difficult to do once again after he averaged 19.1 points and 4.0 assists last year as a junior. Even if he doesn’t take another step he has proven to be one of the top point guards in the country, and one that is also built to give the Gators issues at just 6’0” and an ability to get to the rim. He’ll be at the top of Florida’s scouting report this season.
Josh Hubbard
Mississippi State
In a transfer portal world it’s the veteran players moving from team to team that get most of the attention these days and that has meant a lot of high school recruits have gone under the radar, such as Josh Hubbard who came to Mississippi State as an undersized, under-recruited guard. The 5’10” ball handler exploded onto the scene averaging 17.1 points per game while shooting 36% from three on 8.7 attempts per game, making him one of the most fun players in the country to watch. Hubbard isn’t a national name yet–but this is the year he gets on everybody’s radar.
Jaxson Robinson
Kentucky
With Mark Pope taking the Kentucky job he was sure to bring along one of his top BYU players–Jaxson Robinson. Robinson averaged 14.2 points per game last season and remember–BYU made the transition to the Big 12, so he accomplished this in an excellent league. As someone who understands Pope’s system he’s going to be a huge part of what they do and could very well be their leader in a number of statistical categories. If you wanted to be skeptical you could point out that he already has played in the SEC and struggled, as he started his career at Texas A&M before transferring to Arkansas, and both stops did not go well. However, that was two years ago, and he is much more prepared for SEC basketball now.
Johnell Davis
Arkansas
After two incredible years for Florida Atlantic their two best perimeter players ended up in the SEC with Alijah Martin going to Florida and Johnell “Nelly” Davis going to Arkansas. Davis was the offensive leader for Florida Atlantic with 18.2 points and 2.9 assists per game, and new head coach John Calipari is going to look for him to be a primary scorer in the SEC. Davis doesn’t have great size or athleticism but he’s skilled and has a smooth jumper on a team that doesn’t have a ton of scoring.
Matthew Murrell
Ole Miss
Matthew Murrell is doing something that very few players do these days–stay at one school for five years. If it feels like you’ve been hearing Murrell’s name forever–well, you have. Florida once even recruited him a bit, but that will feel like a distant memory. Known earlier as just a defensive player Murrell has become much more than that and is now a physical downhill driver who averaged 16.2 points per game last season. Murrell has been a high level SEC starter for his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons so he might be the most sure thing in the league, and that’s a clear leader for the Rebels.
Tyrin Lawrence
Georgia
Tyrin Lawrence had the chance to do what Matthew Murrell did and stay at the same school for five years but after four seasons at Vanderbilt he chose to transfer to Georgia. Lawrence has always been a thorn in the side of the Gators whenever they played the Commodores as a shifty yet physical 6’4” guard. While his jumpshot has never fully developed he is still a very talented scorer, and for a Georgia team that needs offense he should be a featured piece.
Collin Murray-Boyles
South Carolina
The Gamecocks were full of surprises last year after getting picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC before going on to make the NCAA Tournament and a big reason why was the play of freshman Collin Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles was not a big name coming out of high school but he came in and immediately started playing like a veteran, throwing his weight around at 6’7” and 235 pounds and controlling the paint on both ends. He even started to get some NBA Draft buzz, and there is a chance this is the last year he spends in college.
Jalon Moore
Oklahoma
Jalon Moore is a wing who can also play the four at 6’6” and manipulate defenses with his shooting, and he took a big step forward when he transferred from Georgia Tech to Oklahoma. This is not a Sooners roster loaded with proven players, and Moore is going to be an important player as they look to transition to the SEC.
Tony Perkins
Missouri
Missouri is going to be extremely young this year and to bring some leadership they acquired Tony Perkins, a guard who got a lot of minutes for Iowa over the last four years. Averaging 14.0 points and 4.6 assists last season he was a steady presence in the Iowa backcourt, and he thinks his style of play will suit the faster SEC. With Missouri looking for ball handling and leadership, Perkins is going to be pivotal.
Cam Carter
LSU
Another SEC bounceback, Carter started with Mississippi State where he didn’t get a lot of burn, leading him to transfer to Kansas State where he developed into a solid starter before now getting back in the league. Averaging 14.6 points per game last season he’s a scoring guard who can run hot and cold, but when he’s on–look out. With LSU’s roster getting shaken up once again, Carter is one of the proven high major scorers who will be looked to as a key scorer.
Jason Edwards
Vanderbilt
Most players transferring to the SEC are division-I veterans–but that isn’t the case with Jason Edwards. After two seasons of junior college Edwards transferred to North Texas where he filled it up scoring 19.1 points per game and he now finds his way making another jump in level to the SEC. So far in his career Edwards has found ways to score at every level which gives the hunch that he’s going to find a way to do it even in the SEC against top level athletes.