USA TODAY puts 2 SEC men’s basketball coaches among top 10 in the country
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The SEC in 2025 boasted its first men’s college basketball champion in 13 years as Florida cut down the nets in San Antonio. There’s a good chance, too, that in just a few weeks, the Gators will join 2023 and 2024 UConn as the only repeat champions since Duke in 1991 and 1992.
That’s a testament to what Todd Golden has been able to do in Gainesville. Heading into conference championship season, he was ranked as the nation’s No. 5 college basketball coach by USA TODAY.
“This season, Golden has done a fantastic job of turning around the Gators’ season after they went 5-4 in the first month and 0-3 against top five opponents in Arizona, Duke and UConn,” John Leuzzi wrote on Tuesday. “Since then, the Gators are 19-2 and are knocking at the door of the 1-seed line.”
Golden is one of two SEC coaches on the list. The other is the last coach before Golden to lead an SEC team to the title. That’s Arkansas‘ John Calipari, who oversaw Kentucky‘s triumph in 2012.
“His Xs and Os may not be what they were during the prime of his tenure at Kentucky, but he can still recruit like no other, develop NBA talent and still coach,” Leuzzi said. “Any form of Coach Cal is better than no Coach Cal.”
The SEC Tournament begins on Wednesday. But Florida and Arkansas, as the No. 1 and 3 seeds (respectively), can rest easy until Friday’s quarterfinals. The Gators will be looking for a second straight conference crown. The Razorbacks haven’t won since 2000.
Will Florida or Arkansas emerge as the 2026 SEC Tournament champion? Kalshi is taking action on predictions!
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
