The SEC’s 2023-24 regular season is in the books.

The SEC Player of the Year race is a tight one, with 4 players rising above the rest who could all warrant significant consideration. Those players are Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Auburn’s Johni Broome.

Here’s a breakdown of the case for each player, sorted by their team’s placement in the final SEC standings:

Dalton Knecht, Tennessee

What a year Dalton Knecht had in Knoxville. He led the conference in scoring at 21.4 points per game and also was a hyper-efficient perimeter weapon, as he finished the year with a true shooting percentage of 59.1%.

There were 6 instances in-which a SEC player scored at least 37 points in a game this season (including non-conference contests). Knecht was responsible for 4 of them. He cleared that barrier against Kentucky, Auburn, Florida and North Carolina — all of whom could contend for a spot in the Sweet 16, if not go even further.

As for the advanced stats, Knecht is 2nd behind Broome in KenPom’s SEC player rankings. He also finished 2nd in BartTorvik’s PRPG! stat (behind Alabama’s Mark Sears), which seeks to measure a player’s offensive worth to his team.

Stylistically, Knecht was malleable. He had high-usage games when his team needed them and low-usage games when his supporting cast was in a groove. He can create off the bounce, drive it to the rim or curl off screens for open jumpers. Through it all, Tennessee won — a lot. The Vols are currently vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — something it has never achieved in program history. Even if the Vols don’t get there, they owe a lot of their success this season to Knecht, who was playing his first season of high-major basketball in 2023. His SEC Player of the Year case is an easy one to make.

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Antonio Reeves, Kentucky

Where would Kentucky be without Antonio Reeves? Certainly not 2nd in the SEC at the end of the regular season, which is where the ‘Cats find themselves today. Reeves finished the year as one of 3 SEC players who averaged 20 points per game this season.

Reeves ranks 4th in BartTorvik’s PRPG! stat behind only Sears, Knecht and Zyon Pullin. He has enjoyed a remarkable season shooting the ball from all 3 levels, going 61% at the rim, 50% from mid-range and 44% from beyond the 3-point line. His 20.2 points per game were scored efficiently on a relatively-modest 23% usage rate.

Kentucky’s identity this season was its elite shooting from all over the floor, and no one was important to the offense than Reeves. He combined with freshmen Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham to form arguably the nation’s best triumvirate of shooters in the back court, as all 3 cleared 44% from 3-point range.

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Mark Sears, Alabama

Mark Sears finished second in scoring in the SEC this year, contributing 21.1 points per game. He was clearly the most productive point guard in the conference this season as he also finished the year with 4.1 assists per game, which tied for the 6th-best mark in the conference.

Sears earned the No. 3 spot in KenPom’s SEC player leaderboard behind only Broome and Knecht. According to BartTorvik’s PRPG! metric, Sears was the clear top player in the SEC this season with regards to his offensive impact. He posted a true shooting percentage of 64.8%, which was second amongst SEC guards only to Sheppard (68%).

Sears was a major reason why Alabama finished the regular season with the nation’s No. 2 offense, per KenPom. He shot 44% from 3-point land and, despite his relatively-short 6-foot-1 frame, managed to shoot 59% at the rim on a high volume (201) of attempts for the season. It’s hard to argue any player was more productive offensively in the SEC this season than Sears.

Johni Broome, Auburn

The lone big on this list, Johni Broome was Auburn’s best player all year long. He averaged 16.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 0.9 steals per game while leading the Tigers to the No. 3 seed in the SEC Basketball Tournament.

Broome was the best player in the SEC this season, according to KenPom’s player leaderboard. He finished 9th in BartTorvik’s PRPG! statistic, and that says nothing about his tremendous defensive impact. Broome led all SEC players (min. 50% minutes percentage) in block rate at 9.9%. He also tacked on a 2.3% steal rate, which was the best mark in the conference for any player 6-foot-9 or taller.

Broome’s impact as a passer should also not be overlooked. He had an assist rate of 20.1% this year, which was the best mark for any SEC player 6-foot-5 or taller this season. Auburn’s young point guards struggled at this season, and Broome’s passing was big in helping the Tigers to a good record in SEC play despite being deficient in that area.

Honorable mentions

Several other players also deserve consideration for this honor and all-SEC status, including: Kentucky’s Reed Shepard, Auburn’s Jaylin Williams, Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor, Florida’s Zyon Pullin, Tennessee’s Jonas Aidoo and South Carolina’s Ta’Lon Cooper.