The defending SEC champion LSU men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the league this season, according to the preseason poll released Tuesday.
Coach Will Wade's squad followed Kentucky and Florida in the predicted order of finish and was followed by Auburn and Tennessee to round out the top five.
The forecast reflects the votes of a panel of both SEC and national media members surveyed by the league.
LSU was projected to finish sixth in the league last season, behind Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida, before finishing a combined 5-2 against those opponents en route to the outright regular-season title.
Florida senior forward Kerry Blackshear, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, earned Preseason SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year recognition.
LSU senior guard Skylar Mays was among nine players to earn votes for the honor.
The University Lab product was named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team.
Predicted Order Of Finish
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. LSU
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. Alabama
7. Mississippi State
8. Ole Miss
9. Georgia
10. South Carolina
11. Arkansas
12. Texas A&M
13. Missouri
14. Vanderbilt
Preseason Teams
First Team All-SEC
Kerry Blackshear - Florida
Anthony Edwards - Georgia
Ashton Hagans - Kentucky
Breein Tyree - Ole Miss
Reggie Perry - Mississippi State
Second Team All-SEC
Kira Lewis Jr. - Alabama
Isaiah Joe - Arkansas
Andrew Nembhard - Florida
Tyrese Maxey - Kentucky
EJ Montgomery - Kentucky
Skylar Mays - LSU
Lamonté Turner - Tennessee
SEC Player of the Year
Kerry Blackshear - Florida
Women's basketball
LSU's women were predicted to finish No. 8 in the conference.
South Carolina topped the preseason list after finishing second in the league standings last season, followed by Texas A&M and reigning champion Mississippi State.
Kentucky and Arkansas rounded out the top five, followed by Tennessee and Auburn.
Texas A&M junior guard Chennedy Carter dominated the Preseason Women's Basketball Player of the Year poll with 14 of the 17 votes after becoming just the second player in history to lead back-to-back NCAA tournaments in scoring.
LSU senior forward Ayana Mitchell earned Preseason All-SEC First-Team recognition.
Predicted Order of Finish
South Carolina
Texas A&M
Mississippi State
Kentucky
Arkansas
Tennessee
Auburn
LSU
Missouri
Georgia
Alabama
Florida
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
Preseason Teams
First-Team All-SEC
Chelsea Dungee - Arkansas
Rhyne Howard - Kentucky
Ayana Mitchell - LSU
Tyasha Harris - South Carolina
Chennedy Carter - Texas A&M
Second-Team All-SEC
Unique Thompson - Auburn
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan - South Carolina
Rennia Davis - Tennessee
Ciera Johnson - Texas A&M
Mariella Fasoula - Vanderbilt
SEC Player of the Year
Chennedy Carter - Texas A&M
