The 2025-26 men’s college basketball season is still just under six months away and the 2026 NCAA Tournament is even further, but ESPN’s Joe Lunardi remains dedicated to his task of composing bracketology updates for the next installment of March Madness.

Lunardi will be providing updates once a month until October as he navigates the various offseason topics that invariably affect his outlook. This time around, he is considering every transfer, portal maneuver and NBA draft entry in his projections as he fine-tunes his crystal ball.

ESPN published the latest edition of his bracketology on Tuesday, which includes the NCAA national champion Florida Gators among the higher seeds. Take a look at where the Orange and Blue — as well as other programs — stand in the projections.

Florida basketball’s seeding in ESPN’s 2026 bracketology

In Lunardi’s first installment of his bracketology, he had the Gators as a No. 3 seed in the South Region, matched up with the 14th-seeded Furman Paladins in Tampa, Florida. In his recent update, Florida remains a No. 3 seed but is now in the Midwest Region, where Todd Golden and Co. are projected to face off with the same Paladins, also played in Tampa.

Keep in mind, the program made a huge wave by adding former Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland through the transfer portal on Tuesday after the bracketology was released. So expect a good boost in June when Lunardi releases the next one.

Top seeds in ESPN’s 2026 bracketology

Two of the top four seeds in ESPN’s second 2026 bracketology are the Houston Cougars, who moved from the West to the Midwest, along with the Duke Blue Devils, who also made a move from the East to the South. The Purdue Boilermakers shifted over to the East from the Midwest, while the UConn Huskies displaced the St. John’s Red Raiders among the top seeds and took over the West.

SEC schools in ESPN’s 2026 bracketology

The Southeastern Conference is once again represented by a nation-best 13 schools in Lunardi’s second bracketology for 2026, headlined by the Kentucky Wildcats at the No. 2 seed in the South after landing in the Midwest last time.

The Tennessee Volunteers (West) and Florida (Midwest) are the No. 3 seeds representing the league, followed by the Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 4, East), Auburn Tigers (No. 5, South), Missouri Tigers (No. 7, East), Oklahoma Sooners (No. 7, West), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 8, East), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 8, Midwest), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 8, West), Texas Longhorns (No. 9, South), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 10, Midwest) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 11, East).

Note that the Rebels are among the Last Four In and are projected to participate in the First Four play-in round. UGA is listed among the Last Four Byes.

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