The new-look basketball landscape of the Southeastern Conference will make its official debut this week in Birmingham, Alabama, at the league’s annual media day.
Ahead of the festivities, the SEC released the preseason media selection s for both the predicted order of finish for the 2024-25 season and the individual All-SEC honors. Kenny Brooks’ inaugural UK team achieved a feat not accomplished by previous Wildcats rosters since Rhyne Howard (2021-22) — a preseason first-team selection.
All-America graduate point guard Georgia Amoore, who moved to Lexington alongside Brooks after four seasons at Virginia Tech, was named to first team alongside Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson, Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao and Texas’ Madison Booker.
Morrow, Johnson and Booker tied for the media’s choice for preseason conference player of the year.
Amoore’s four-year career with the Hokies is a storied one, having averaged 14.7 points (including 36.1% from beyond the arc), 2.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 0.8 steals and made 121 career starts. She ranks fourth overall on Virginia Tech’s all-time list for 3-pointers made (85) and first in career assists (856). Instead of declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft (in which she was projected to be a first-round pick), Amoore elected to develop for one final year under Brooks — and help him establish a new era of Kentucky women’s basketball.
Kentucky also bested its predicted finish from last season, during which the Wildcats were projected to finish 13th out of programs. This year, UK was voted to finish eighth overall in the league standings.
All four of the SEC’s new coaches — Brooks along with Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell, Oklahoma’s Jennie Baranczyk and Texas’ Vic Schaefer — found their teams predicted to finish in the top half of the league; only South Carolina stands between Texas and the top of the SEC, while Oklahoma was picked to finish fourth overall and Tennessee was picked seventh.
The Wildcats have only won the regular-season conference title once — in 2012 under former head coach Matthew Mitchell. UK hoisted the SEC Tournament championship trophy in 1982 under the late Terry Hall, and in 2022 under former head coach Kyra Elzy.
Kentucky will open its 2024-25 campaign on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. against South Carolina Upstate at the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum. SEC play for the Wildcats will begin at home on Jan. 2 against Mississippi State.
Here are the complete results of the 2024-25 SEC preseason media awards.
Predicted order of finish: 1) South Carolina, 2) Texas, 3) LSU, 4) Oklahoma, 5) Ole Miss, 6) Alabama, 7) Tennessee, 8) Kentucky, 9) Florida, 10) Vanderbilt, 11) Mississippi State, 12) Auburn, 13) Texas A&M, 14) Georgia, 15) Missouri and 16) Arkansas.
Preseason players of the year: Flau’jae Johnson, LSU; Aneesah Morrow, LSU; Madison Booker, Texas.
First-team preseason All-SEC: Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama; Georgia Amoore, Kentucky; Aneesah Morrow, LSU; Flau’jae Johnson, LSU; Raegan Beers, Oklahoma; Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina; Madison Booker, Texas.
Second-team preseason All-SEC: Mikaylah Williams, LSU; Madison Scott, Ole Miss; Skylar Vann, Oklahoma; Raven Johnson, South Carolina; MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina; Rori Harmon, Texas.
The SEC preseason predictions are here, and the experts like Arkansas more than Kentucky
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