Ranking the top five incoming freshman classes in the SEC

For the longest time, high school recruiting in the SEC was dominated by Kentucky, primarily due to Arkansas head coach John Calipari. He was responsible for accumulating more talent out of the high school ranks than any other coach or program in history, but things have changed in recent years.

While Calipari is still landing a great deal of talent out of high school, the addition of the transfer portal has changed every coach's recruiting approach. That, paired with the SEC's investment into coaches and basketball as a whole, has made the conference one of the best in the sport and a desired landing spot for top recruits. As such, the SEC is regularly collecting some of the most talent out of the portal and out of the high school ranks.

Recently, HawgBeat ranked the top five portal classes in the SEC, so as we continue our series of roster rankings, we will be looking at high school classes going into next year.

Worth noting, this ranking will not simply be the five highest-ranked in the Rivals database, because those rankings can be due to any number of factors, including volume. Instead, these rankings will attempt to measure each incoming freshman class by expected impact, quality of players overall, and fit around the rest of the roster.

Unlike the portal, fewer freshmen can lead to a higher ranking on this list, partly because freshmen classes are growing smaller and smaller with the portal being used so widely and frequently. Also, there is a track record for highly-touted freshmen contributing at a high level right away.

Now let's dive into HawgBeat analyst Jackson Collier's high school class rankings...

Signees:

Five-star Meleek Thomas (No. 7 nationally)

Five-star Darius Acuff (No. 13 nationally)

Four-star Isaiah Sealy (No. 88 nationally)

Why they're No. 1:

Calipari has made a legendary career out of landing top talent from the high school ranks, and even with the evolution of the sport, that hasn't changed. The Razorbacks landed two five-stars in the 2025 class, and as the rankings currently stand, only three five-stars in the class signed to SEC schools. The lone other five-star committed to a school in the conference is Nate Ament, who committed to Rick Barnes and Tennessee.

Arkansas gets the top spot here, but it's not just because of the ranking of the top two players in the class. It's also because the freshmen will undoubtedly have a major role on the team next season.

Three of Arkansas' four freshmen from last season provided major minutes and contributions, and there is no doubt this group will be utilized in a similar fashion. The difference, though, is that this class is probably more talented than the 2024 class, at least in terms of being able to contribute right away. One or both of Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff are poised to start immediately and possess next-level skills to be another class of one-and-dones for the Hall of Fame coach.

Four-star in-state signee Isaiah Sealy deserves some recognition, as well. The sharpshooter possesses great length and athleticism, and while his high school ranking seems somewhat low, his impact could be greater than some expect.

Signees:

Four-star Jasper Johnson (No. 18 nationally)

Four-star Malachi Moreno (No. 27 nationally)

Why they're No. 2:

While neither Johnson nor Moreno are five-stars in rank, both have the potential to play to that level next season. Both have top-tier talent mixed with mature play-styles.

While it is only a two-man class, both players are expected to make a significant impact in the rotation next season. It remains to be seen exactly how big of a role with how many transfers the Wildcats signed this off-season, but Moreno and Johnson are the types of competitive players to fight for minutes and make the decision tough on the coaching staff in naming starters.

Even if the duo doesn't start right away, or at all, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope's system relies on depth and a lack of falloff within that depth. At the very least, these two freshmen provide that.

Signees:

Four-star Mazi Mosley (No. 40 nationally)

Four-star Jalen Reece (No. 49 nationally)

Four-star Matt Gilhool (No. 65 nationally)

Why they're No. 3:

There are teams behind LSU who have incoming freshmen ranked higher than the Tigers' group, so how are they ranked so high? The primary reason is the immediate impact this group of freshmen will likely make next season.

The Tigers finished 3-15 in the SEC last season, good enough for 15th in the SEC, and lost nearly all of their production from a year ago. Even with adding some talented transfers, the freshmen are coming into an environment full of competition and opportunity. Head coach Matt McMahon is in a make-or-break season after the university released a statement at the end of last season that it was sticking by McMahon and giving him more NIL resources.

Because of the massive roster turnover and make-or-break nature of the season, the freshmen have a great situation to see the floor early. On the other hand, for those very same reasons, McMahon might feel obliged to play the more experienced transfers if he feels it gives the team a better chance to win.

It can become the age-old battle of talent versus experience, and given that the Tigers haven't had a ton of talent in recent years, I think there's a good chance that the freshmen and the talent win out.

Signees:

Four-star Davion Hannah (No. 33 nationally)

Four-star London Jemison (No. 50 nationally)

Four-star Amari Allen (No. 64 nationally)

Why they're No. 4:

Alabama has the inverse situation to LSU: the Crimson Tide return a decent amount of players and production, added some solid talent from the transfer portal, and have been a very good team under head coach Nate Oats.

As a group, this trio of freshmen is easily one of the best classes in terms of overall and average talent, but the immediate impact factor goes down a little bit given the retention and portal haul Alabama has.

Does that mean these freshmen make zero impact? Of course not, but I do think it makes it much more difficult for all three freshmen to see meaningful minutes next season. This past season, Alabama had three freshmen in its main rotation, two of whom averaged 14.0 and 8.8 minutes per game. A fourth freshman redshirted this past season. A similar situation arose the season before, where four freshmen were in the main rotation, but two were in minimal roles.

Those situations themselves are commonplace in college basketball. The issue is that this upcoming freshman class is not as talented as previous ones in Tuscaloosa, in particular this past season's group. Plus, there's the whole retention thing, as well. Each player in this freshman class should find a role, but I don't think it will be as major as previous freshmen classes in Alabama, or as significant as the schools listed above the Crimson Tide. On paper, though, it's one of the best classes in the conference.

Signees:

Four-star CJ Ingram (No. 59 nationally)

Four-star Alex Lloyd (No. 73 nationally)

Why they're No. 5:

The two-man class of CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd is strong on paper, but even better on film. What is working in the duo's advantage is the roster build. While the defending national champions do return a fair amount of minutes, a healthy majority of that is in the frontcourt, giving the freshmen a chance to compete for playing time immediately.

Looking at the roster as it's constructed currently, Ingram fills a role otherwise vacant in a long, athletic wing who can defend. His size at 6'6" will make it difficult to leave him off the floor, especially with his talent, and he could even be a starter at the beginning of the season.

Lloyd, on the other hand, might not be a starter, but should find playing time as a freshman with his scoring ability at the two-spot.