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SEC report cards for the 2024

Myron MedcalfMay 28, 2025, 09:00 AM ET Close Covers college basketball Joined ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato Open Extended Reactions Before the focus fully shifts to the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, we’re evaluating how this past season went. With grades for the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 […]

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1 month ago

May 28, 2025

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Myron MedcalfMay 28, 2025, 09:00 AM ET
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- Covers college basketball
- Joined ESPN.com in 2011
- Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

Before the focus fully shifts to the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, we’re evaluating how this past season went.

With grades for the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 already in, we’re moving on to the SEC — our final report card of this series. With a record-setting 14 NCAA tournament bids in 2024-25, it’s no surprise the SEC earned the most A grades of the five conferences we’ve covered, and only the second without a single F.

Part of this process is straightforward: A good team that played like a good team will earn a strong grade, and a good team that played like a bad team will not. But it will be complicated for certain teams. Some had championship dreams. Others hoped to win just one game. Either way, we are judging each squad’s season based on preseason expectations while offering grace on a case-by-case basis for any unfortunate midseason events.

Note: Teams listed in alphabetical order under each grading tier.

A grades

Grade: A

Grant Nelson and Mark Sears — two starters from the team that lost to UConn in Alabama’s first trip to the Final Four in 2023-24 — returned to help the Crimson Tide compete for the SEC crown, making Alabama the easy pick to win the conference title in the SEC’s preseason poll. While the Crimson Tide ultimately finished third behind rival Auburn and Florida, they still boasted the best offense in the nation’s strongest conference. Sears, an AP first-team All-American, led their electric scoring attack to the Elite Eight, where Alabama lost to Duke.

Grade: A

From Jan. 13 to March 3, Bruce Pearl’s program was ranked No. 1 in the AP top 25 while on a 20-1 run. Led by Wooden Award contender Johni Broome, the Tigers won the conference championship in the No. 1 league on KenPom. Although they lost to eventual champion and SEC rival Florida in the Final Four, Auburn — which had just three NCAA tournament appearances in 30 years before Pearl’s arrival in 2014 — had a remarkable season, with the most wins (32) in program history.

Auburn and Florida are among seven SEC teams to earn “A” grades in our report card series. Bob Donnan-Imagn ImagesGrade: ALast summer, Walter Clayton Jr. withdrew from the NBA draft to return to Florida after a season worthy of an All-SEC first-team selection. He wanted to prepare for the pros while helping the Gators win at the highest level in college basketball. Todd Golden had the solution: He moved Clayton to point guard and added talent like Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin, which helped the Gators capture their third national championship (and their first since 2007).

The Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament, Clayton also put himself in position for a potential first-round selection in this summer’s draft — he is projected to go 29th overall in ESPN’s latest mock.

Grade: A

There will always be a “what if?” element to this season, Mark Pope’s first as the head coach of his alma mater, with top transfers Kerr Kriisa, Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson all missing significant time due to injuries. But the Wildcats never made excuses on their way to securing one of the country’s most impressive résumés; wins over Duke, Florida and Tennessee (twice) stamped a season that featured eight top-30 KenPom wins.

It was a dominant debut for Pope, who had to build the roster from scratch following John Calipari’s departure to Arkansas and took the Wildcats all the way to the Sweet 16, where they lost to rival Tennessee. One of America’s top offenses also matured into a respectable defensive team, clocking in at 51st nationally in defensive efficiency.

Grade: A

After a win over Wichita State on Dec. 23, 2023, Missouri recorded just one victory for the rest of that season. As a result, coach Dennis Gates, who had led the team to the NCAA tournament the previous year, faced questions about his future. But those questions were answered during this past season as Gates helped the Tigers orchestrate one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history (a 22-12 record after going 8-24 in 2023-24).

Duke transfer Mark Mitchell and veteran Caleb Grill were anchors of a program that beat Kansas, Florida and Alabama. The Tigers stumbled late and lost to Drake in the first round of the NCAA tournament but ended the season tied for sixth place in a loaded SEC after being picked to finish 13th in the preseason.

Editor’s Picks2 RelatedGrade: AIn the final seconds of Tennessee’s win over Illinois in December, Rick Barnes drew up a play that he had learned from legendary high school coach Morgan Wootten in 1980, when he was a Division I assistant. Barnes’ experience gave him and the Vols an edge, winning 30 games for the third time in program history and the second time under him. They ran into a great Houston team in the Elite Eight and fell short against the eventual national runners-up, but that doesn’t take away from how Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier led one of the top teams in the country.

Grade: A

Considering how new coach Mark Byington was charged with rebuilding a program that lacked a tradition of success, it was not surprising when Vanderbilt was picked to finish last in the SEC’s preseason poll. But the Commodores had other plans. Jason Edwards (17.0 PPG) was the centerpiece for a program that exceeded the odds by finishing in a four-way tie for seventh in the conference standings and reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.

B grades

Grade: B

John Calipari’s move from Kentucky to Arkansas was the biggest story of last offseason. With the help of financial backers like Tyson Foods chairman John Tyson, Calipari hand-selected the top recruits and transfers in the country. But a series of injuries ultimately affected the Razorbacks with Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero, their top two scorers, missing significant time. And while their 0-5 start to SEC play garnered headlines, a run to the Sweet 16 — where they had a late lead over Texas Tech before losing 85-83 in overtime — helped salvage an imbalanced season.

Grade: B

Georgia’s season only strengthens the SEC’s case as one of the greatest conferences in recent NCAA men’s basketball history. The Bulldogs earned a 9-seed as one of the league’s 14 teams to have their names called on Selection Sunday, going 8-10 in conference play with wins over Texas, Kentucky and Florida. Considering their nonconference slate was anchored by a victory over St. John’s, a Georgia team that was largely considered to be an afterthought entering the season — the Bulldogs were picked to finished 12th in the preseason poll — ended its campaign with wins over the Big East champion Red Storm and national champion Gators.

Grade: B

Josh Hubbard, who averaged 18.9 PPG, helped the Bulldogs survive in the SEC to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament as an 8-seed. They finished ninth in the conference standings after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll, but their 8-10 record in league play was good enough for the selection committee, which is the only thing that matters. Chris Jans coached a team that did just enough in a stacked conference.

Grade: B

It was a rocky year for the Sooners. After winning their first 13 games of the season, they went 0-4 to open SEC play before finishing 7-14 in their final 21 games. They still managed to earn their first trip to the NCAA tournament under Porter Moser, though, thanks to that undefeated start. Projected NBA draft lottery pick Jeremiah Fears was the young star of an Oklahoma squad that had wins over Louisville, Arizona and Michigan.

Grade: B

Chris Beard had his most talented and balanced teams taking over at Ole Miss in 2023 — the Rebels were top-25 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom — and he made the most of that with the program’s first run to the Sweet 16 in 24 years. The Rebels managed to finish 10-8 in conference play with wins over Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. Sean Pedulla (15.4 PPG, 39.2% from beyond the arc) was an all-SEC third-team selection and one of six players who averaged double figures for the Rebels.

Grade: B

Buzz Williams’ squad finished 10th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, the first top-10 finish of his career. Texas A&M was picked to finish fifth in the SEC’s preseason poll, which is exactly where it landed in the final standings. But with the conference’s collective strength and a midseason injury to Wade Taylor IV (15.7 PPG), nothing came easy for the Aggies, who accrued nonconference wins over Creighton, Texas Tech and Purdue. A loss to Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament capped a subpar finish to the season (3-6 in their last nine games).

D grades

Grade: D

The Tigers finished 15th, just one slot below their predicted spot in the SEC’s preseason poll. Matt McMahon enjoyed a successful run at Murray State, where he helped future NBA superstar Ja Morant develop his game before arriving at LSU in 2022. But McMahon has had no such luck with the Tigers, who missed the NCAA tournament for the third straight season and finished below .500 for the second time in his three years.

It wasn’t a good season to be a mediocre team in the SEC.

Grade: D

The 2023-24 campaign was a dream for Lamont Paris and South Carolina — the Gamecocks won 26 games, finished in a four-way tie for second place in the SEC and earned a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament. But 2024-25 was a nightmare, with only two conference wins. Still, the SEC’s worst team managed to beat three NCAA tournament squads (Clemson, Texas and Arkansas).

Grade: D

It seemed the Longhorns had everything a team could want. Tre Johnson, a projected top-10 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, averaged 19.9 PPG and had one of the best freshman debuts of the NIL and transfer portal era. They also had high-level transfers like Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State) and Tramon Mark (Arkansas) on the roster. But Rodney Terry was fired after they finished 19-16 (6-12 in SEC play) and barely made the NCAA tournament, where they lost a First Four game to Xavier. In an interesting offseason twist, the Longhorns then replaced Terry with Xavier coach Sean Miller.

NIL

The new college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor-backed collectives

By EDDIE PELLS – AP National Writer The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools. Those arrangements hold no […]

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July 11, 2025

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By EDDIE PELLS – AP National Writer

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company with decades of licensing and other experience across college athletics, to help arrange NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11, “ranging in value from three figures to seven figures.” More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

A deal, however, could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

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Angel Reese calls out Robert Griffin III, claims he’s lying ‘for clout’ in wake of Caitlin Clark take

Angel Reese called out Robert Griffin III for his take on her not liking Caitlin Clark. Without saying Griffin’s name, Reese went after him, who said he talked to people in her inner circle. “Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy […]

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1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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Angel Reese called out Robert Griffin III for his take on her not liking Caitlin Clark. Without saying Griffin’s name, Reese went after him, who said he talked to people in her inner circle.

“Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy work,” Angel Reese wrote. This came after Griffin called out people who attacked Reese after she was named a cover athlete for NBA 2K26. In the X/Twitter post, the former NFL quarterback mentioned that he spoke to Reese’s inner circle about the Chicago Sky star not liking Cark.

“People in Angel’s inner circle called me and told me I was right and Angel Reese has grown to hate Caitlin Clark because of the media always asking her about Caitlin and being constantly compared to her,” Griffin wrote. “Some people made it about race, but I never did and never will. Instead of becoming the villain in anyone’s story, I decided to just not.”

What Robert Griffin III said about Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark

Robert Griffin III originally shared his take on Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark in May after Clark fouled Reese in the Sky vs. Indiana Fever game. Reese went after the Clark before she was calmed down by the Sky coaches.

“So why do I think Angel Reese hates Caitlin Clark? It could be the fact that Aliyah Boston had to save Angel Reese from ending her career… After the foul, Caitlin Clark put on Angel Reese, and Angel Reese tried to hit her,” Griffin said at the time. “But if it wasn’t for Aliyah Boston putting her arms in the way, Angel Reese would not be playing basketball anymore, because she was going to sucker punch Caitlin Clark. Now, you tell me a time when you’ve seen somebody get fouled on a basketball court in a professional league, where they try to almost sucker punch somebody that they were friends with, because of a hard foul?”

Reese and Clark have been competing against each other since they were in college. Reese played at LSU, and Clark played at Iowa. Reese and LSU defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2023 National Championship Game, and the two went on to enter the WNBA in 2024. Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year last season, and Reese finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

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NCAA basketball committees consider March Madness expansion

The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value. WASHINGTON — The committees for men’s and women’s Division I basketball met this week to discuss possible expansion of the March Madness tournaments, but made no immediate decisions or recommendations. “The still viable […]

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1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value.

WASHINGTON — The committees for men’s and women’s Division I basketball met this week to discuss possible expansion of the March Madness tournaments, but made no immediate decisions or recommendations.

“The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement Thursday.

The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value and that he’d like to see the issue resolved in the next few months.

He said the NCAA has had “good conversations” with TV partners CBS and Warner Bros., whose deal runs through 2032 at the cost of around $1.1 billion a year. Baker also mentioned increasingly difficult logistics involved with adding teams to what is now known as the “First Four” — a series of four games played on Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week to place four teams into the 64-team bracket.

Though there has been no concrete plan for how expansion would work, speculation has centered on bringing more at-large teams, likely from major conferences, into the 64-team bracket. Such a move that would come at the expense of champions of lower-level conferences.

Currently, two of the First Four games involve 16 seeds — teams that automatically qualify by winning lower-ranked conferences — while two more involve at-large teams often seeded 11 or 12. For instance, in 2021, UCLA made the Final Four as an 11 seed that also played in the First Four.

“I don’t accept that that model just continues in the future,” Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said at league meetings in May.

He used the example of North Carolina State advancing to the Final Four as an 11 seed in 2023 as how bubble teams from big conferences can make long runs in the tournament.

“You could go ask my colleagues in the (automatic qualifier) conferences what should happen, and I’m certain they want that split to continue for life,” Sankey said. “But you’ve got some really, really good teams … that I think should be moved into the tournament.”

Any recommendation for expansion would have to be approved by the NCAA’s Division I board, which next meets in August.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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New college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor

Published

1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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New college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

NIL

Robert Griffin III fires back at Angel Reese over liar accusation, Caitlin Clark ‘hate’

Robert Griffin III is not backing down from Angel Reese, who went after him for claiming to have spoken to her inner circle about the Caitlin Clark hate. On X/Twitter, the former NFL quarterback told Reese that she should “tighten” her circle instead of “trying to check” him. “I spoke up in support of Angel […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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Robert Griffin III is not backing down from Angel Reese, who went after him for claiming to have spoken to her inner circle about the Caitlin Clark hate. On X/Twitter, the former NFL quarterback told Reese that she should “tighten” her circle instead of “trying to check” him.

“I spoke up in support of Angel Reese against racism not to start drama,” Robert Griffin III wrote. “But I won’t let anyone twist the truth just because it’s inconvenient to them. Instead of trying to check me, just tighten up your circle. They calling me and saying you hate Caitlin Clark, not the other way around. I have zero interest in being the villain in anyone’s story. I just want to have fun, tell the truth and celebrate sports. But I won’t pretend or lie just to protect feelings.”

This began on Thursday morning when Griffin went after the fans who were attacking Angel Reese for being on the cover of NBA 2K26. In the social media post, Griffin said people in Reese’s inner circle talked to him about her relationship with Caitlin Clark.

“People in Angel’s inner circle called me and told me I was right and Angel Reese has grown to hate Caitlin Clark because of the media always asking her about Caitlin and being constantly compared to her,” Griffin wrote. Reese saw the post later in the morning and went after Griffin.

More on Robert Griffin III and Angel Reese

“Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy work,” Reese wrote. It’s clear Reese doesn’t believe that Griffin spoke to anyone close to her about Clark.

In May, Griffin said that Reese hates Clark and explained his reason. “It could be the fact that Aliyah Boston had to save Angel Reese from ending her career,” Griffin said about an incident between Clark and Reese during a Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game. “After the foul, Caitlin Clark put on Angel Reese, and Angel Reese tried to hit her. But if it wasn’t for Aliyah Boston putting her arms in the way, Angel Reese would not be playing basketball anymore, because she was going to sucker punch Caitlin Clark. Now, you tell me a time when you’ve seen somebody get fouled on a basketball court in a professional league, where they try to almost sucker punch somebody that they were friends with, because of a hard foul?”

Reese, who played at LSU, is having a strong start to her WNBA career. The 23-year-old is averaging 13.3 points and 12.8 rebounds this year. In 2024, Reese finished second in Rookie of the Year voting (behind Clark) after averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds.

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Texas Athletics, Learfield partner to launch Longhorn Sports Agency to manage NIL …

Texas Athletics announced in late June that it would be partnering with Learfield to launch the Longhorn Sports Agency, an initiative to “optimize (Name, Image and Likeness) operations and maximize opportunities for Longhorn student-athletes”. Learfield is the top media company in the world of college athletics, with ties to over 1,200 universities and connections to […]

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1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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Texas Athletics, Learfield partner to launch Longhorn Sports Agency to manage NIL ...

Learfield is the top media company in the world of college athletics, with ties to over 1,200 universities and connections to over 12,000 national and local brands. These connections will significantly assist Texas when it navigates what remains of the NIL world after the House v. NCAA settlement on June 6.

“The Longhorn Sports Agency reflects our commitment to building an industry-leading infrastructure that supports our student-athletes and strengthens the Texas brand,” Texas Athletics director Chris Del Conte said.

The partners plan to run the Longhorn Sports Agency using three objectives. The first is to create “on-campus NIL leadership,” making advising opportunities readily available for student-athletes on the Forty Acres.

The second is to assist athletes in creating content campaigns, with the aim of building and eventually monetizing a strong personal brand for each student-athlete.

Lastly, the Longhorn Sports Agency will provide access to “deal facilitation and compliance technology through the Compass NIL platform”.

Compass NIL is an app that stores all NIL exchanges in one place, providing athletes with a platform to receive deal opportunities, make agreements and receive payment from those deals through a digital wallet. Created by Learfield, this platform plays a vital role in the structure of the Longhorn Sports Agency.

“With the House settlement and the current landscape of college athletics, it’s critical to accelerate innovation, and we’re proud to support Texas as they continue to lead with a bold, future-focused approach to NIL,” said Solly Fulp, Learfield’s executive vice president of NIL growth and development.

Following the three initiatives, with the assistance of Compass NIL, Texas Athletics will staff the agency with NIL executives accordingly, including a director of NIL business development, an associate of business development and an NIL marketing partnership manager.

These executives will work with a group of Learfield staff, consisting of two supervising producers, an editor and a social content producer. The Learfield content creation team and Texas Athletics NIL executives will work with Longhorn Network and Longhorn Sports Properties to maximize athlete profit through storytelling and personal branding. This group of staff will work under Lucas Motta, vice president of Longhorn Sports Properties.

“Everything we do at Texas is about setting a high standard, and NIL is no different,” Del Conte said. “This initiative is about doing NIL the right way, with intention, innovation and the full backing of our partner, Learfield, who knows how to achieve excellence in NIL.”