Grant Nelson hasn’t played a basketball game yet for Alabama, but he was chosen Tuesday to the preseason All-SEC first team in a vote of SEC and national media.

Nelson, a 6-foot-11 forward, averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last season at North Dakota State. He was one of the most coveted players to enter the transfer portal in the offseason.

Veteran guard Mark Sears earned a spot on the All-SEC second-team. The 6-1 Sears averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in helping Alabama to the 2022-23 SEC regular-season and tournament championships.

Alabama is picked to finish fifth in the SEC, behind Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Kentucky. Auburn is sixth, followed by Mississippi State, Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina.

Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor was chosen as Preseason SEC Player of the Year. He is joined on the All-SEC first team by Nelson, Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile, Auburn’s Johni Broome, Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith, Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi and Kentucky’s Justin Edwards.

Along with Sears, second-team picks were Florida’s Riley Kugel, Arkansas’s Davonte Davis, Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler.

Alabama, which finished 31-6 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last season, opens its 2023-24 schedule Nov. 6 at home vs. Morehead State.