As the Auburn Tigers gear up for their week one game against the Baylor Bears in Atlanta, three players have earned Preseason All-SEC honors following the conclusion of SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida.
Junior linebacker Xavier Atkins, senior defensive back Champ Anthony and senior kicker Alex McPherson were all named to the Preseason All-SEC Team, as it was announced on Friday, July 24 by the SEC.
The team was voted on by the league’s media members at the media days, who filled out ballots for the First Team, Second Team and Third Team for each of the respective positions.
Atkins notched a selection to the First Team. In 2025, the junior was named a Second Team All-American and First Team All-SEC athlete after transferring over from LSU. He led the Tigers with 84 tackles and nine sacks. He also recorded 17 tackles for loss, which were the most in the SEC and the third-most in a single season in Auburn history.
After being out for a good chunk of the year after he broke his thumb against Baylor and injured a leg against Kentucky, Anthony was named to the Third Team.
In his seven games of action, Anthony recorded 13 tackles and served as a team captain. The senior was also one of the three that was selected to go with Tigers head coach Alex Golesh to SEC Media Days.
McPherson was also named to the Third Team after recovering from an illness that kept him out for all of 2024. In 2025, he was 20-for-23 on field goal tries and made all 35 of his extra point attempts. The 20 field goals were ranked fourth in the league and were the fifth-most in a single season by an Auburn kicker.
McPherson also comes into the 2026 season as one of the three representatives of the Tigers at SEC Media Days and holds a field goal percentage of 88.9 percent, which is the highest in Auburn history.
The Tigers will open up the 2026 in Atlanta against the Baylor Bears in the Aflac Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 5. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT.
