Otega Oweh, Malachi Moreno Receive SEC Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference unveiled its men’s basketball postseason awards Monday as selected by the league’s head coaches.

Florida’s Todd Golden was named SEC Coach of the Year and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. was selected as both the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. Florida’s Ruben Chinyelu earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year; Texas’ Dailyn Swain was voted SEC Newcomer of the Year and Florida’s Urban Klavzar was voted SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

Otega Oweh (Photo by Wayne Mason)

Kentucky players Otega Oweh and Malachi Moreno took home All-SEC awards with Oweh named to the second team and Moreno an all-freshman selection. 

For Oweh, this marks his second-consecutive bid to the All-SEC Second Team, while Moreno is the first All-Freshman Team honoree at Kentucky under head coach Mark Pope. 

Oweh has had a remarkable senior season for the Wildcats, averaging career bests of 18.2 points, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals to go along with 4.5 rebounds. He has continued to deliver consistent scoring production, scoring in double figures in 30 of 31 regular-season games, including 16 games with 20 or more points.  

Moreno has been an immediate contributor for UK, starting 25 of 31 games and leading the team in rebounding and blocked shots. The freshman center is averaging 8.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, while shooting a team-best 58.7 percent from the field and posting three double-doubles. He ranks seventh among freshmen in the conference in scoring, second in rebounds and first in blocks. The Cats are 10-1 on the season when Moreno scores in double-figures. 

Among his most memorable moments this season was his game-winning buzzer beater at LSU, helping complete an epic, 18-point comeback for Kentucky. Moreno was also selected to the SEC Community Service Team last week. 

2025-26 SEC Men’s Basketball Awards

First Team

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

Second Team

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Mark Mitchell, Missouri

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Dailyn Swain, Texas

Third Team

Rashaun Agee, Texas A&M

Alex Condon, Florida

Keyshawn Hall, Auburn

Aden Holloway, Alabama

Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State

All-Defensive Team

Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Somto Cyril, Georgia

Felix Okpara, Tennessee

Billy Richmond III, Arkansas

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

All-Freshman Team

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Amari Allen, Alabama

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Malachi Moreno, Kentucky

Meleek Thomas, Arkansas

Coach of the Year: Todd Golden, Florida

Player of the Year: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Newcomer of the Year: Dailyn Swain, Texas

Freshman of the Year: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Sixth-Man of the Year: Urban Klavzar, Florida

Defensive Player of the Year: Rueben Chinyelu, Florida