SEC announces men's basketball all-conference teams, awards

The SEC was filled with quality teams this season, and it took up until the final day of the regular season to crown a regular season champion. Now, with the regular season in the books and the SEC Tournament set to open play, the conference has announced individual awards and all-conference teams, including the All-SEC first team, All-SEC second team, All-Freshman team, and All-Defensive team.

Ultimately, Auburn finished as the regular season SEC Champion, and the Tigers see a number of players and others listed in the SEC awards. Tennessee finished as the second seed, with Kentucky and Arkansas rounding out the top four, earning double-byes into the quarterfinals on Friday. Each of the top four seeds have multiple award winners.

The first round of the SEC Tournament gets underway on Wednesday night, with the second round being played on Thursday.

Individual SEC awards

Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Auburn

Player of the Year: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jordan Wright, Vanderbilt

Freshman of the Year: Jabari Smith, Auburn

Sixth-Man of the Year: Tari Eason, LSU

Defensive Player of the Year: Walker Kessler, Auburn

Auburn spent most of the season ranked highly, and held the top spot in the rankings for multiple weeks. Pearl led the Tigers to a strong season, also relying heavily on Smith and Walker. Ultimately, Tshiebwe’s strong season for Kentucky was too strong to overlook when picking the SEC Player of the Year.

All-SEC, freshman, defensive teams

First Team

JD Notae, Arkansas
Jaylin Williams, Arkansas
Walker Kessler, Auburn
Jabari Smith, Auburn
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Tari Eason, LSU
Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State
Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt

Second Team

Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Colin Castleton, Florida
TyTy Washington Jr., Kentucky
Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky
Darius Days, LSU
Kobe Brown, Missouri
Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee
Quenton Jackson, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team

Charles Bediako, Alabama
JD Davison, Alabama
Jabari Smith, Auburn
TyTy Washington Jr., Kentucky
Brandon Murray, LSU
Devin Carter, South Carolina
Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

All-Defensive Team

Keon Ellis, Alabama
Jaylin Williams, Arkansas
Walker Kessler, Auburn
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee