Florida basketball trio earns SEC, NABC preseason honors

Florida basketball’s veteran frontcourt continues to earn preseason recognition ahead of the 2026-27 season.The league’s coaches voted Thomas Haugh SEC Preseason Player of the Year on Thursday, and Rueben Chinyelu joined him on the preseason All-SEC first team. Alex Condon earned second-team honors.All three Gators also appeared on the 20-player preseason watch list for the 2027 NABC Division I Player of the Year, giving Florida more selections than any other program in the country. This marks the 22nd year the league has released coaches’ preseason All-SEC teams.Alabama’s Amari Allen, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner round out the five-player first team, and Tennessee’s Juke Harris, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic, Texas’ Matas Vokietaitis and Arkansas’ Jordan Smith Jr are on the second team with Condon.Florida’s three standouts also received national recognition from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Haugh, Chinyelu and Condon were among 20 players selected to the NABC Player of the Year preseason watch list.No other program placed three players on the list. Duke and UConn were the only other schools with multiple selections, earning two apiece.The NABC Division I Player of the Year is determined through a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches at the conclusion of the regular season. Since the 1974-75 season, they have awarded it annually, and the sport’s head coaches choose it as the sole national player-of-the-year accolade.Officials will reveal the winner during the week of the 2027 Men’s Final Four. Duke’s Cameron Boozer won the award last season.Haugh’s SEC recognition adds another major preseason honor for a Florida team entering the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. The Gators are one of seven SEC programs in the preseason top 25, the most of any conference.Florida opens the regular season Monday against No. 17 Miami in Tampa.Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball trio earns SEC, NABC preseason honors