LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Southeastern Conference announced its men’s basketball preseason teams on Monday, naming Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson to the third team.
The grad transfer from Brigham Young University comes to Kentucky as the 2023-24 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year after leading Mark Pope’s Cougars in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Robinson was the first bench player in BYU program history to pace the team in scoring and did so while shooting 42.6% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the 3-point arc, all career-bests.
His production helped BYU finish fifth in the Big 12 during its inaugural season in the conference, after the team was chosen to finish 13th in preseason polls. The Cougars had a number of signature wins on their way to earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, including victories against No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor and No. 24 Iowa State.
Robinson reached double-digit scoring in 25 of 33 games played last season, connecting on 81 3-pointers and burying at least one triple in each of the team’s final 21 games. He had a standout performance in BYU’s NCAA Tournament games against Duquesne, tallying 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers.
A native of Ada, Oklahoma, Robinson spent the previous two seasons in Provo alongside Pope. Prior to that, he played a season apiece at both Arkansas and Texas A&M. The 6-foot-6 wing has made large jumps each of the past two seasons. After averaging 3.4 points per game his sophomore season at Arkansas, Robinson scored 8.5 points per contest during his first year at BYU before again elevating his output to 14.2 points per game last year.
Robinson is joined on the SEC preseason third team by Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara, Florida’s Alex Condon, South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles and Tramon Mark of Texas.
Alabama’s Mark Sears was the pick for preseason SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and the Crimson Tide was predicted to finish atop the 2024-25 SEC Standings. Kentucky, winner of a league best 49 regular-season titles, was chosen to finish eighth among the league’s 16 schools. Selections were made by a panel of both SEC and national media members.
The Wildcats will hold their annual Blue-White event this Friday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. before a pair of exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan (Oct. 23) and Minnesota State Mankato (Oct. 29). The Cats then open the regular season inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Wright State.
First Team All-SEC
Mark Sears – Alabama
Johni Broome – Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. – Florida
Zakai Zeigler – Tennessee
Wade Taylor IV – Texas A&M
Second Team All-SEC
Grant Nelson – Alabama
Jonas Aidoo – Arkansas
Johnell Davis – Arkansas
Matthew Murrell – Ole Miss
Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State
Third Team All-SEC
Chad Baker-Mazara – Auburn
Alex Condon – Florida
Jaxson Robinson – Kentucky
Collin Murray-Boyles – South Carolina
Tramon Mark – Texas
SEC Player of the Year
Mark Sears – Alabama
Predicted Order Of Finish
1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Tennessee
4. Arkansas
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Kentucky
9. Ole Miss
10. Mississippi State
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
13. Missouri
14. LSU
15. Oklahoma
16. Vanderbilt
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