Signing day: SEC basketball 2020 classes led by Kentucky, Tennessee so far

The SEC is coming off a quality basketball season that featured a No. 1 team for a month in Tennessee and a surprise Final Four run from Auburn.

And, of course, there is Kentucky.

Now, it's time for the league to load up on more talent, which Kentucky did better than anyone, while Tennessee put together one of the best classes in program history. The rivals have two of the top four classes in the 247Sports Composite.

Georgia and Florida also have Top 25 groups.

Here’s our breakdown of National Signing Day from around the SEC at the start of the early signing period Wednesday, using player rankings from the 247Sports Composite:

Kentucky cleans up

Death, taxes and Kentucky assembling the SEC's best recruiting class. John Calipari has four highly regarded prospects committed in the 2020 class, highlighted by No. 4 prospect Terrence Clarke, who reclassified from the 2021 class, and No. 13 prospect BJ  Boston.

More:Composite rankings of Class 2020 class

Tennessee leaps

Rick Barnes' best class at Tennessee prior to the 2020 class ranked No. 31 in the 247Sports Composite. This one ranks No. 4. The Vols started strong with four-star forward Corey Walker Jr. and it only got better. Five-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson followed to give UT a top class with three commitments.

What will Nate Oats do at Alabama?

Alabama starts the early signing period without a commitment after missing on No. 22 prospect Nimari Burnett, who committed to Texas Tech on Tuesday. First-year coach Nate Oats could make a splash yet in the early signing period. Power forwards Isaiah Jackson (No. 25) and Keon Ambrose-Hylton (No. 78) are expected to announce during the early period and Alabama is in the mix for both.

Ranking the classes

1. Kentucky: Kentucky's class features the two highest-ranked commitments to the SEC in Clarke and Boston. No. 33 prospect Lance Ware and No. 44 recruit Cam'Ron Fletcher are also committed to give Kentucky the No. 3 class nationally.

2. Tennessee: The Vols class is highlighted by a commitment from Springer, the nation's No. 16 prospect. He should pair well with Johnson, the No. 23 prospect, as Barnes looks to keep a good run in Knoxville going with a new level of recruiting prowess.

3. Florida: Florida's three-commitment class features two top 120 prospects in forward Samson Ruzhentsev and guard Niels Lane. Florida also landed a commitment from Osayi Osifo, the No. 5 junior college prospect in the country from Eastern Florida State College. 

4. Georgia: Tom Crean has a handful of prospects committed, including two top 10 junior college players — guard Mikal Starks and forward Jonathan Ned — to provide an immediate boost in Athens. Local power forward Josh Taylor is the top-ranked commitment.

5. Arkansas: New Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman got big commitments in his first class. No. 42 prospect Moses Moody and No. 96 prospect Davonte Davis committed to the Razorbacks.

6. Texas A&M: Buzz Williams' first class with the Aggies is topped by a commitment from Hassan Diarra, the No. 64 prospect. 

7. Auburn: Bruce Pearl loves quick guards and he got another one in Sharife Cooper, who is the top-ranked commitment for an SEC team other than Kentucky or Tennessee. Cooper is one of two commitments for Auburn after its Final Four run.

8. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs beat other SEC teams for No. 52 prospect Deivon Smith's commitment. In-state forward Cameron Matthews also is committed. 

9. LSU: Will Wade, who recruited the No. 4 class in the nation in 2018, has two commitments. Louisiana guard Jalen Cook tops the pair.

10. South Carolina: The Gamecocks got a pair of big men from Columbia to commit to staying at home and playing  for Frank Martin.

11. Ole Miss: Matthew Murrell is the only commitment for the Rebels and Kermit Davis, but he is a key one from nearby Memphis via IMG Academy.

12. Vanderbilt: Washington D.C. product Myles Stute is the lone Commodores commit. 

13. Missouri: Cuonzo Martin's roster has only one senior and Missouri has one commit: Jordan Wilmore, a 7-foot-2 center.

14. Alabama: Alabama started the signing period without a commitment. 

Biggest hits

1. Ole Miss landing Murrell: Murrell is Ole Miss' highest-ranked commitment in the recruiting era dating back to 2000, according to the 247Sports Composite of all-time recruits. That's no small feat for Davis, who has a great guard coming in as Breein Tyree departs.

2. Tennessee's guards: UT has a pair of senior guards outgoing in Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner. Johnson and Springer fill those spots and could form a wild backcourt if 2019 five-star guard Josiah-Jordan James returns for his sophomore season.

3. Arkansas' in-state recruiting: Moody had a massive list of suitors, but the Little Rock native who played at Montverde Academy in Florida, picked Arkansas. Davis also is from Arkansas and picked his home-state school, flipping from Oklahoma State. Those two form the backbone of an in-state class that still could get better — four-star center Jaylin Williams (No. 69) and four-star guard KK Robinson (No. 72) could land in Fayetteville after the early period.

Biggest misses

1. South Carolina's losses to Miami: The Gamecocks fill a need with big men, but missed on top-ranked in-state prospect P.J. Hall (Clemson). But the big misses came with highly regarded prospects Earl Timberlake (No. 28) and Matt Cross (No. 80). Both had South Carolina as finalists. Both picked Miami.

2. Vanderbilt whiffing on Murrell: As big a win as Murrell was for Ole Miss, he was a huge loss for Vanderbilt and new coach Jerry Stackhouse, who even has Faragi Phillips, Murrell's coach from Memphis Whitehaven, on his staff.

3. Smith spurning Georgia for MSU: Smith, from Loganville, Georgia, would have catapulted Georgia's class into the top 10 in the nation. Instead, the dynamic point guard picked a different SEC school. The Bulldogs still landed two points guards in the early period, but Smith is more highly regarded than either.