Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of Georgia has been named the SEC Player of the Year, while Kentucky's Nerlens Noel won both Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Joining Caldwell-Pope and Noel on the First Team All-SEC are Alabama's Trevor Releford, Florida's Erik Murphy, LSU's Johnny O'Bryant, Missouri's Phil Pressey, Tennessee's Jordan McRae and Texas A&M's Elston Turner.

Billy Donovan was named Coach of the Year.

The SEC has become one college basketball's strongest conferences over the past decade as Kentucky has become a powerhouse again under John Calipari, while Billy Donovan has built a consistent winner at Florida with championships in 2006 and 2007.

But there has also been a trickle down effect.

Seven of the top 15 overall prospects in the Class of 2013 are SEC-bound: Andrew and Aaron Harrison and James Young to Kentucky, Kasey Hill and Chris Walker to Florida, Bobby Portis to Arkansas and Jarrell Martin to LSU.

Each of the five remaining top-15 prospects are considering at least one SEC school.

The SEC has 13 top-50 commits, which is more than double the amount from the ACC (6) and Big 12 (6).

Xavier Rathan-Mayes is focused on six schools at this point in his recruitment.

“It’s tough,” Rathan-Mayes’ stepfather, Tharon Mayes said. “He’s getting calls from everywhere. I think he’s finally got it down to five or six schools he’s interested in.”

Those schools are Florida State, UConn, Memphis, Baylor, Alabama and UCLA.

Rathan-Mayes has already taken an unofficial visit to UConn, but Tharon is wary of whether Jim Calhoun will return for the 2013-14 season.

“It’s a concern,” Tharon said. “He likes Kevin Ollie. Kevin’s been speaking to him, it’s definitely a school of interest. But that is something that’s a little scary.”

Xavier Rathan-Mayes has narrowed his list of college choices to UCLA, Kentucky, Florida, Florida State, UConn, Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, Alabama, and Illinois.

Rathan-Mayes is a member of CIA Bounce and is a top-50 recruit.