It’s hard to argue that last season could have gone any better for the programs in the SEC. 14 of the league's 16 teams made it to the NCAA Tournament, with Florida winning it all. Much of the SEC’s success was a direct result of solid roster makeup and a ton of experience. But having all of that experience comes with a downside. This offseason, nearly every team in the conference is searching for players to make up for all of the roster talent lost. For some teams, this means an entire roster overhaul.
The SEC could easily be the top conference again next season, but much of that is predicated on how well each program can fill out its roster with complimentary pieces. With over 2,000 players in the portal, finding the right fit isn’t always easy. With so much roster movement going on, here are the biggest remaining needs for each of the SEC's 16 programs.
Alabama Crimson Tide - Defense
The past couple of seasons Alabama managed to win a ton of games without a solid defense. But after running it back this past season, most of the offensive firepower that took the Crimson Tide to new heights is gone. This isn’t a great situation for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. Clifford Omoruyi helped improve the defense last season, but he isn’t able to return for the Tide. And with a huge roster turnover, there isn’t much to fall back on in terms of capable defensive talent. Aiden Sherrell has some defensive upside, but he only played 8.8 minutes last year. It would be wise for Nate Oats to bring in some established defenders to provide relief fast.
Arkansas Razorbacks - Bench Scorers
Arkansas struggled with depth all season. The Razorbacks played with a short rotation all season but were forced to play with only a couple of bench players due to injuries to the team's top scorers. While the Hogs fared well over the final month of the season, Arkansas ended the 2024-25 season as the conference's worst bench-scoring team. A large part of the Razorbacks scoring is no longer with the team, and what scoring remains will most likely be in the starting rotation. Right now, it appears that Arkansas will, once again, be playing with a short rotation, but things will be much easier if the Hogs have someone to consistently carry the second unit.
Auburn Tigers - Post Depth
Losing Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell in the same offseason is a tough blow to a great Auburn interior. But it doesn’t make things any that for all of last season, nearly all of the Tigers’ post minutes went to those two players. Bruce Pearl has already reached in to the JUCO ranks to add a big man for the 2025-26 season. Pearl added Emeka Opurum out of Butler CC to go along with the addition of KeShawn Murphy. While Murphy gained a ton of experience at Mississippi State, expecting Opurum to handle the strains of SEC basketball might be a stretch. Another experienced big would help shore up Auburn’s frontcourt for next season.
Florida Gators - Lead Playmaker
Without Walter Clayton Florida is missing a consistent lead scoring from its roster. Things are made slightly more difficult with Alijah Martin and Will Richard also exhausting their eligibility. With three of the team's top scorers no longer available, there isn’t an obvious next man up. Alex Condon could fill some of the gap if he decides to return to Gainesville, otherwise Todd Golden will need to pluck an elite playmaker out of the transfer portal. It will be tough to replicate its high-powered offense, but if Florida can find an elite scorer, either on the roster or from the portal, the Gators should be in a great position entering next season.
Georgia Bulldogs - Interior Defense
With freshman star Asa Newell off to the NBA as expected, the Georgia Bulldogs are in need of a dominant interior defender. The Bulldogs should have a couple of capable rim protectors returning next season, though only Soto Cyril (1.5 bpg) averaged more than 10 minutes per game. Mike While turned Georgia into one of the top defensive teams in the country last season, and a large part of that was how well Newell patrolled the paint. It would be wise of White to follow a similar blueprint for his defense moving forward, however, as his roster stands right now, that dominant interior defender probably isn’t currently on the roster.
Kentucky Wildcats - Perimeter Defense
Mark Pope and the Wildcats are in desperate need of defense this season after Kentucky failed to put up much of a fight on that end of the court last year. Not a lot of defense left after this past season since there wasn’t much there to begin with. But Pope has tried to address the defense. So far, Pope has added some interior defense in the way of Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State, but with Lamont Butler being out of eligibility, the Wildcats don’t really have anyone that can slow down opponents on the perimeter. A strong perimeter defender could make a huge difference on this roster, but the challenge will be finding them.
LSU Tigers - 3-Point Shooting
There are a lot of issues facing this LSU team, but some reliable three-point shooting could improve a bad offense quickly. LSU has brought in a ton of scoring from the transfer portal this offseason, but with most of these players scoring the same way - driving to the basket - it's difficult to see how this offense doesn’t get bogged down in iso-ball. The Tigers made 29.5 percent from deep during conference play, which made the team much easier to guard, knowing that few shots would be made from behind the arc. Without someone to stretch the floor it's hard to see year number four in Baton Rouge going much better for Matt McMahon.
Mississippi State Bulldogs - Guards
Mississippi State has had the luxury of Josh Hubbard leading the offense the past two years, but with him testing the NBA Draft waters and Riley Kugel once again taking his chances in the transfer portal, Chris Jans is in desperate need of some depth at the guard position. If Hubbard withdraws his name from the draft, the need for more guards is somewhat lessened, but that won’t completely solve all of the Bulldogs needs on the perimeter. As the Bulldogs learned last year, Hubbard can’t do everything. Adding a couple of solid scoring guards might finally allow Mississippi State to break into the top half of the SEC standing.
Missouri Tigers - Perimeter Scoring
Two hallmarks of a Dennis Gates offense are forcing turnovers and hitting threes. Since the Tigers should still be okay next season on the turnover front, Mizzou needs to find some elite perimeter scorers. With Caleb Grill no longer on the roster, Missouri has a huge opening for someone to take over as its next incredible three-point threat. The Tigers still have Jacob Crews on the roster, though it’s hard to imagine that he can carry the team from the outside on his own. Another consistent outside shooter would make this offense much more balanced, so whether this comes from a player currently on the roster or the transfer portal, Gates and the Tigers still have some work to do.
Oklahoma Sooners - Scoring
Oklahoma’s top seven scorers from a year ago are no longer with the team. That’s 69.1 points per game that Porter Moser will need to replace. And with what little scoring is returning from last season, it would be hard to predict the Sooners winning more than a couple of games. So far this offseason, Oklahoma has added Tae Davis (15.1 ppg) from Notre Dame and Nijel Pack (13.9 ppg in nine games) from Miami. This is a good start for the Sooners, but there is still a ton of work to be done to replicate Oklahoma’s best offense under Porter Moser. Adding more scoring should be a priority, otherwise, Oklahoma might easily fall to the bottom of the SEC.
Ole Miss Rebels - Post Depth
Ole Miss made a surprise run in the NCAA Tournament in March, and as much as the Rebels would have loved to run it back this upcoming season, a large part of the roster ran out of eligibility. With most of the roster being comprised of guards, Chris Beard focused on bringing in some replacements already this offseason. However, the Rebels are still in need of some experienced post players to help out Malik Dia. Ole Miss lacked size in the front court, which led to the Rebels struggling to score in the paint and in grabbing offensive rebounds. A little more size on the roster could help out on both ends of the court.
South Carolina Gamecocks - Perimeter Scoring
It appeared for a moment that South Carolina had brought in a strong group of guards from the transfer portal, headlined by the return of Meechie Johnson for his second stint in Columbia. But with the lost commitment of coveted guard Treysen Eaglestaff, Lamont Paris is once again searching for a solid perimeter scorer. At 5.8 made threes per game at 28.6 percent, the Gamecocks were by far the worst perimeter-scoring team in the SEC during league play. The ability to make shots from deep could have swung a few close games in South Carolina’s favor this season.
Tennessee Volunteers - Guards
Tennessee is in somewhat unfamiliar territory at this point of the offseason. The Volunteers have been one of the more stable rosters over the past few years, but after a great run through the NCAA Tournament, Rick Barnes needs to find some guards to replace the six he lost due to eligibility this offseason. He’s already picked up one of the best in the transfer portal - Ja’Kobi Gillespie - but will need a couple more to balance out a rotation. Gillespie fills a huge need from behind the three-point line, but Tennessee still needs a lead ball handler and secondary scoring guard.
Texas Longhorns - Interior Depth
Between exhausted eligibility and hiring a new coach, Texas saw a lot of roster turnover this offseason. It lost four forwards from last year's team, leaving that part of the court bare for the time being. New head coach Sean Miller brought one of his top forwards, Dailyn Swain, with him from Xavier, though Miller’s roster is far from complete. A trio of guards announced they would be returning to Texas, but Sean Miller still doesn’t have much in the way of post players. Miller doesn’t need elite interior play to be successful, though a few competent bigs would definitely make his first year in Austin much easier.
Texas A&M Aggies - 3-Point shooting
The Aggies hired Bucky McMillan this offseason - officially bringing Bucky Ball to College Station. Which means that Texas A&M will most likely have an entirely new offensive look this fall. After a couple of seasons of hard-to-watch basketball, Texas A&M should transform into one of the more fun teams to watch. To do this, Bucky McMillan will need to add plenty of three-point shooting to his roster. McMillan has already added Jacari Lane from North Alabama, but he will need a couple more sharpshooters to bring his offense to life.
Vanderbilt Commodores - Size
Mark Byington did an incredible job turning the program around in his first season at the helm, but not all was great for Vanderbilt. One major area that the Commodores were lacking last season was size. Vanderbilt didn’t have a single player listed taller than 6’8” on the roster. Now Byington has to replace one of his most effective bigs - Jaylen Carey transferred to Tennessee this offseason. Vandy held up okay against bigger teams, but the Commodores were one of the worst rebounding teams in the conference while also struggling to defend the paint. A true big could have a major impact on this team.