Tennessee was picked Thursday afternoon to win the 2021 Southeastern Conference men's basketball championship in a vote of league and national media members.
The Volunteers return four starters from last season's 17-14 team and have the nation's No. 4 class of signees. Tennessee's most recent SEC title occurred in 2018, when the Vols shared the crown with Auburn.
Vols senior forward John Fulkerson earned SEC first-team preseason honors along with Alabama's John Petty, Florida's Keyontae Johnson, Kentucky's Brandon Boston and LSU's Trendon Watford. Tennessee senior forward Yves Pons was a second-team selection.
Tennessee, which is ranked 12th nationally in The Associated Press preseason poll and 14th in the USA Today coaches poll, begins its 2020-21 season Nov. 25 against Charlotte inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.
Tennessee Athletics photo by Andrew Ferguson / Tennessee senior forward John Fulkerson is a Southeastern Conference first-team preseason selection.Preseason media poll
1. Tennessee2. Kentucky3. LSU4. Florida5. Alabama6. Arkansas7. Auburn8. South Carolina9. Ole Miss10. Missouri11. Texas A&M12. Mississippi State13. Georgia14. Vanderbilt