Junior guard Wade Taylor IV named SEC's Preseason Player of the Year

Call him IV. Call him the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Southeastern Conference announced that Texas A&M junior guard Wade Taylor IV has been tabbed as the league’s preseason player of the year. The voting was conducted by a select panel of SEC and national media members.

Taylor’s honor represents the first time that an A&M player has been named the SEC’s preseason Player of the Year, and his first-team preseason all-conference nod is the first by an Aggie since Robert Williams in 2017-18.

The honor should come as no surprise as Taylor’s incredible sophomore season saw him score 16.3 points and 2.7 assists per game in 2022-23 en route to All-SEC first-team accolades. A year ago, he finished the regular season with eight consecutive double-digit performances as the Aggies surprisingly finished as runners-up in both the SEC title race and SEC Tournament.

In addition to announcing the preseason All-SEC first and second teams, the media also released its predicted order of finish, which has Texas A&M coming in second behind only Tennessee.

Just yesterday, Buzz Williams & Co. came in at No. 15 in the initial AP Poll of the year, the third-highest preseason ranking in program history. A&M was listed at No. 19 in the coaches poll.

A&M’s regular season begins on Monday, Nov. 6, against Texas A&M-Commerce at Reed Arena.

SEC Preseason Media Poll

SEC Player of the Year
Wade Taylor IV - Texas A&M

First Team All SEC
F - Grant Nelson - Alabama
F - Trevon Brazile - Arkansas
F - Johni Broome - Auburn
G - Justin Edwards - Kentucky
F - Tolu Smith - Mississippi State
G - Santiago Vescovi - Tennessee
G - Wade Taylor IV - Texas A&M

Second Team All-SEC
G - Mark Sears - Alabama
G - Davonte Davis - Arkansas
G - Riley Kugel - Florida
G - Antonio Reeves - Kentucky
G - Zakai Zeigler - Tennessee

Predicted Order of Finish
1. Tennessee
2. Texas A&M
3. Arkansas
4. Kentucky
5. Alabama
6. Auburn
7. Mississippi State
8. Florida
9. Missouri
10. Ole Miss
11. Vanderbilt
12. Georgia
13. LSU
14. South Carolina