Texas junior wing Dailyn Swain earns multiple SEC basketball honors
Today, the Southeastern Conference released its all-league teams and individual award winners, and junior small forward Dailyn Swain represented the Texas Longhorns by taking home a couple of prestigious titles. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound NBA prospect was far and away the best player on the season for the Longhorns, and other coaches across the league agreed on his impact.
Though Arkansas lead guard Darius Acuff Jr. was the ultimate star, taking home SEC Player of the Year as well as Freshman of the Year, Swain still managed to secure the Newcomer of the Year award as well as a place on the All-SEC Second Team.
The teams are as follows.
FIRST TEAM
Darius Acuff Jr., G, Arkansas (Fr.)
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (Sr.)
Thomas Haugh, F, Florida (Jr.)
Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (So.)
Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (So.)
SECOND TEAM
Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (Fr.)
Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (Sr.)
Mark Mitchell, W, Missouri (Sr.)
Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (Sr.)
Dailyn Swain, W, Texas (Jr.)
THIRD TEAM
Rashaun Agee, F, Texas A&M (Sr.)
Alex Condon, C, Florida (Jr.)
Keyshawn Hall, W, Auburn (Sr.)
Aden Holloway, G, Alabama (Jr.)
Josh Hubbard, G, Mississippi State (Jr.)
OTHER AWARDS
Coach of the Year: Todd Golden, Florida
Player of the Year: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
Sixth Man of the Year: Urban Klavzar, Florida
Swain, who is considered by most to be a first-round lock in the 2026 NBA Draft due to a mix of athleticism, size, defensive playmaking, slashing ability, and burgeoning outside shooting, leads the Longhorns in five statistical categories this season: points (17.7), rebounds (7.5), assists (3.4), steals (1.8), and minutes (32). He also shot 55.4% from the field and 80.7% from the free-throw line, underlining his developing ability to connect due to increased shooting touch.
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The Xavier transfer followed head coach Sean Miller to Austin, and was one of the most sought-after players in the entire portal, drawing heavy interest from programs like Ohio State and Kentucky, amongst others. He saw a massive increase in role at Texas, and by extension, statistical success, adding 6.7 points per game to his average from the 11 he averaged as a sophomore in the Big East. He also increased his rebounds per game by 2, assists per game by 0.8, his steals per game by 0.2, and his three-point percentage from 25% to 34.6% on nearly three times as many attempts.
He had 11 games with over 20 points, including six with over 25 and a season-high 34 in a loss against Mississippi State. He also recorded seven games of 10+ boards, including 14 in the same game as his scoring explosion against MSU. He was also an extremely valuable player on the defensive end of the floor, adding to his NBA value by being a two-way force. Swain becomes the second Longhorn of the SEC era to win an award in men’s basketball after eventual no. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson won Freshman of the Year in 2024-25.
Texas will continue its season on Wednesday night against Ole Miss in the first game of the SEC Tournament, looking to avoid the NCAA Tournament play-in, which they likely would with a win. Tip is at 6PM CST on SEC Network.
