Purdue star point guard Braden Smith was a unanimous choice for the Associated Press preseason All-American team, released Monday.
Smith, a senior, received all 57 votes in the balloting. He is the only returning first-team All-American in the country.
Texas Tech’s JT Toppin (52 votes) was second, while Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg (30), BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (22) and Florida’s Alex Condon (16) round out the team.
Smith averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals last season for the Boilermakers, who reached the Sweet 16. Purdue opens this season as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Smith was Big Ten Player of the Year last season. He ranks fourth in conference history with 758 career assists.
Toppin averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while helping the Red Raiders reach the Elite Eight last season. He was Big 12 Player of the Year and earned second-team All-American honors.
Lendeborg transferred to Michigan following last season after considering a jump to the NBA. He starred at UAB for two seasons and averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists last season.
Dybantsa was the nation’s No. 1 recruit and opted to play for the Cougars. The 6-foot-9 forward is expected to play just this season for BYU as he is on the short list of players who might go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Condon is forecasted to have a larger role for the Gators after being a key complementary cog on their national championship team. He averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds and blocked 49 shots. Florida opens this season at No. 3.
–Field Level Media
