Florida Gators' Keyontae Johnson Named SEC Preseason Player of the Year

The Florida Gators roster the SEC's Preseason Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

SEC-affiliated media has voted Florida Gators forward Keyontae Johnson as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year.

Alabama guard John Petty Jr., Kentucky guard Brandon Boston Jr. and forward Olivier Sarr, LSU forward Trendon Watford, and Tennessee forwards John Fulkerson and Yves Pons also received votes. Johnson, Petty, Boston, Watford, and Fulkerson were also named first-team All-SEC.

Tennessee was voted to win the 2021 SEC Men's Basketball Championship. The Gators were voted the No. 4 team in the conference in the preseason media poll.

Johnson, 6-foot-5, 229-pounds, is coming off of an explosive season where he was undoubtedly Florida's best and most consistent player, leading the squad with 14 points per game and a total of 38 steals in 31 contests. 

Johnson was named to the Coaches' first and Associated Press' second All-SEC teams after the 2020-21 season was cut short this past March, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson was also named to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list last week, awarded annually to men's college basketball's top small forward.

This is the second year in a row that Florida has rostered the league's Preseason Player of the Year. Last season, graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. earned the honor, going on to average 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, with eight double-doubles, across 31 appearances in his final season of eligibility.

Below, you can find the entire SEC preseason media poll .

1. Tennessee

2. Kentucky 

3. LSU

4. Florida

5. Alabama

6. Arkansas

7. Auburn

8. South Carolina

9. Ole Miss

10. Missouri .

11. Texas A&M

12. Mississippi State

13. Georgia

14. Vanderbilt