Experience and youth highlight USA TODAY Sports All-America basketball team

AI-assisted summary
• Purdue guard Braden Smith and Texas Tech forward JT Toppin headline the preseason All-America team.
• Three freshmen, including Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, are among the top players to watch.
• The first team also includes Kentucky’s Otega Oweh, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, and Florida’s Alex Condon.

Purdue guard Braden Smith, Texas Tech forward JT Toppin and three freshmen phenoms lead the USA TODAY Sports preseason men’s basketball All-America team.

Already one of the most decorated point guards in Big Ten history, Smith enters his senior season within striking distance of Bobby Hurley’s career assists records. Toppin was named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year after scoring in double figures in 28 games last season, including 15 in a row to end the season.

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Brigham Young forward AJ Dybantsa and Duke forward Cameron Boozer are set to take Division I by storm as the biggest stars in one of college basketball’s best freshmen classes in recent memory.

All-America first team

G Braden Smith, Purdue

He’s the unquestioned leader for No. 1 Purdue and the biggest reason why this could be the year the Boilermakers deliver a long-awaited national championship. Smith finished second nationally with 313 assists last season while upping his scoring to 15.8 points per game.

G Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Oweh was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year after leading the Wildcats with 16.2 points per game in 2024-25. Added experience and increased comfort in coach Mark Pope’s up-tempo offense could make Oweh the first Kentucky player to lead the conference in scoring in nearly a decade. He’s the biggest piece for a team that would be unsatisfied with anything less than a trip to the Final Four.

F JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Toppin took his game to another level in the second half of last season and will be even more productive as the top option for the Red Raiders. He averaged 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game overall in 2024-25 but was at his best in the tournament, averaging 19.3 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in Tech’s run to the Elite Eight.

F AJ Dybantsa, Brigham Young

Dybantsa joins a team built to become the first in program history to reach the Final Four. Blessed with an insane blend of size, athleticism and shooting touch, the 6-foot-10 small forward was the nation’s top overall recruit and has already proven himself in international competition.

C Alex Condon, Florida

Condon had an up-and-down 2024-25 season that was hampered by an ankle injury suffered in February, though he rallied with one of his best performances of the year in the win against Houston that earned the Gators the national championship. After averaging 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last year, Condon should be a double-double machine and one of the top big players in the SEC.

All-America second team

G Darryn Peterson, Kansas

The reigning Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year has drawn comparison to Kobe Bryant, among others, and Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t shy away from that hype by calling Peterson “the most talented freshman, hands down,” he’s ever coached. He will be the Jayhawks’ top option from the start and should be a one-and-done superstar.

G Labaron Philon, Alabama

Somewhat surprisingly, Philon opted to return to Alabama after a sterling freshman season that saw him develop into one of the Tide’s top scorers and a terrific perimeter defender. He’ll have the ball in his hands even more for a reworked roster that should round into form before March.

F Cameron Boozer, Duke

Boozer is bigger than Cooper Flagg – last year’s standout freshman for the Blue Devils – but has a similarly wide skill set on both ends that fits perfectly in Jon Scheyer’s offensive and defensive schemes. The five-star newcomer isn’t as polished from distance but will be a bruising interior presence for the Blue Devils.

F Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

The Alabama-Birmingham transfer considered the NBA draft but opted to be the Wolverines’ centerpiece in coach Dusty May’s second season. Lendenborg did everything for the Blazers, with 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game, and could be an even more productive scorer with a stronger supporting cast. 

C Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s

The senior blossomed in Rick Pitino’s second season, earning first-team all-conference honors after averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Big East’s regular-season and tournament champions. Ejiofor will find more room to operate inside after Pitino went into the transfer portal to add some much-needed outside shooting.