Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
The Arkansas preseason All-SEC list has two names on it.
Freshman Jordan Smith Jr. was a second-team pick. Junior Billy Richmond III landed on the third team.
League media members also have the Razorbacks finishing third in the SEC this season.
Only Florida and Texas were picked higher. Tennessee is right behind the Hogs at No. 4. Alabama sits fifth.
Both lists came out Monday, two days before Arkansas takes its turn at SEC Basketball Media Days.
That’s Wednesday from 4:50 to 5:15 p.m. on the SEC Network set. Head coach John Calipari goes first, followed by Richmond and Cooper Bowser.
Richmond tested the NBA waters
Richmond went through the NBA draft process. He even took part in the 2026 NBA Draft Combine.
In the end, he returned to Arkansas for his junior season.
Richmond also drew votes for SEC Player of the Year.
That award went to Florida’s Thomas Haugh. Florida’s Alex Condon and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner also drew votes.
Richmond earned a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team last season.
He could score a little, too. In SEC games only, he shot 57.4% from the field (97-of-169). That was second-best in the league.
He saved his best for late. Richmond scored in double figures in 12 of the last 15 games.
Five of those were 20-point games, and they came in a row.
A season of steady growth
In the 2026 SEC Tournament title game, Richmond had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Razorbacks won that one for the tournament crown.
Calipari has talked to anybody that will listen about what Richmond brings to the Hogs with his leadership and constant work ethic. He consistently wishes every player on the roster played that way.
His scoring nearly doubled from his freshman to sophomore season, going from 5.7 points per game to 11.2. and he racked up 74 assists as a sophomore, up from 49.
His blocks went from 15 to 30. The steals climbed from 19 to 41.
Smith hasn’t played a college minute yet
The media put Smith on the second team anyway.
That’s what happens when you’re the consensus National High School Player of the Year. The Washington, D.C., native won that honor last season.
The Field of 68 ranks him as the SEC’s top freshman. Three of his teammates also made its top 10 SEC freshmen list: Miikka Muurinen at No. 3, JJ Andrews at No. 5 and Abdou Toure at No. 8.
Dick Vitale’s preseason Diaper Dandies team has just nine players. Smith and Muurinen both made it.
Smith spent part of the summer at the Baha Mar Summer League in The Bahamas. He led the team in assists and steals.
He also had a triple-double against Carleton University. The line was 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Two tune-ups at home
The Hogs play twice at Bud Walton Arena before the games count.
Gonzaga visits Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m. That’s two Naismith Hall of Famers, Calipari and Mark Few, on opposite benches in October.
Memphis comes in four days later on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.
Both will air on SECN+.
Neither exhibition is in the 2026-27 season ticket package. Yes, that means buying tickets separately.
The real opener is Tuesday, Nov. 3, against UAPB. It’s the first time the schools have ever met.
Where everybody else landed
Florida is the favorite to repeat as SEC champion.
The Gators also had three players on the preseason teams. Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu are first-teamers, while Condon is on the second.
Tennessee’s Juke Harris, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Vanderbilt’s Tanner fill out the first team.
Alabama’s Amari Allen, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Texas’ Matas Vokietaitis joined Smith on the second.
Richmond’s third-team company is Texas A&M’s PJ Haggerty, Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno, Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford and Texas’ David Punch.
Ole Miss was picked 13th. Mississippi State was 15th, one spot ahead of last-place South Carolina.
Preseason polls have been wrong plenty of times. The Hogs will take third and see what happens.
