Lady Vols basketball picked third in SEC preseason poll. Here's the full list.
Reigning national champion LSU was picked to win the SEC by media covering women's basketball, the league announced Tuesday.
LSU forward Angel Reese, who won Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, was picked as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year. LSU guard Hailey Van Lith, Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson and Ole Miss forward Madison Scott all received votes.
LSU leads the conference with four players voted to Preseason All-SEC teams. The Lady Vols had the second-most with two selections. No other school had more than one.
South Carolina was picked to finish second, followed by Tennessee, Ole Miss and Mississippi State to round out the top five.
LSU, which finished second in the SEC last season, hasn't won the SEC regular season championship since the 2007-08 season during WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles' senior year. LSU lost three starters from its national championship team, but it brought in two of the top transfers this offseason in Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, as well as No. 2 incoming freshman Mikaylah Williams.
South Carolina, which has won seven of the last 10 SEC regular-season titles and tournaments, enters a new era without the decorated 2019 class of Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere. But the Gamecocks have a solid core of returners, including Raven Johnson and Kamilla Cardoso, to lead one of the top freshmen classes in the country and transfers Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker.
The Lady Vols have finished third in the SEC every season under coach Kellie Harper, who enters her fifth season. Even with a reloaded LSU and the historical dominance of South Carolina, this season could very well be the year Harper takes the team to second or first place in the league for the first time since 2014-15.
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There's still uncertainty about Tamari Key's return from being sidelined last season with blood clots in her lungs, but Tennessee brought in a trio of transfer guards to elevate its backcourt presence to match its elite forwards. With Jackson and junior Jillian Hollingshead to compliment Key in the paint, the Lady Vols will be a force on both ends of the court.
The season begins Nov. 6 and SEC play begins Jan. 4.
Preseason SEC order of finish
LSU
South Carolina
Tennessee
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Georgia
Auburn
Vanderbilt
Preseason SEC Player of the Year
Angel Reese, LSU
Preseason All-SEC First Team
Flau'jae Johnson, LSU
Angel Reese, LSU
Hailey Van Lith, LSU
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Preseason All-SEC Second Team
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Madison Scott, Ole Miss
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
Jewel Spear, Tennessee
Aicha Coulibaly, Texas A&M
Jordyn Cambridge, Vanderbilt
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Media picks LSU to win SEC, with South Carolina, Lady Vols right behind
