Arkansas guard Darius Acuff and Florida coach Todd Golden land top honors from SEC coaches

By Canadian Press on March 9, 2026.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. and Florida’s Todd Golden were named the Southeastern Conference’s player and coach of the year Monday.

Acuff averaged 22.2 points and 6.4 assists a game as a freshman, joining Hall of Famer Pete Maravich as the second in league history to lead the league in those two categories in a single season.

Widely projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, Acuff helped the 17th-ranked Razorbacks (23-8, 13-5) earn the No. 3 seed in this week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

Golden, meanwhile, led defending national champion Florida to the league’s regular-season title after replacing three starting guards and two of his top assistants. The fourth-ranked Gators (25-6, 16-2) have won 11 in a row and 20 of 22 entering the tournament as the top seed.

Coaches of the powerhouse league also voted Acuff as freshman of the year, Texas’ Dailyn Swain as newcomer of the year, Florida’s Urban Klavzar as sixth man of the year and Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu as defensive player of the year. Chinyelu also was named the SEC scholar-athlete of the year.

First Team

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

Second Team

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Mark Mitchell, Missouri

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Dailyn Swain, Texas

Third Team

Rashaun Agee, Texas A&M

Alex Condon, Florida

Keyshawn Hall, Auburn

Aden Holloway, Alabama

Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State

All-Defensive Team

Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Somto Cyril, Georgia

Felix Okpara, Tennessee

Billy Richmond III, Arkansas

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

All-Freshman Team

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas

Amari Allen, Alabama

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Malachi Moreno, Kentucky

Meleek Thomas, Arkansas

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The Associated Press