Men’s college basketball preseason All-America team: Braden Smith, JT Toppin and more

In all our years compiling The Athletic’s preseason All-America teams, we’ve never had such a wide-open, split-vote field.

Welcome to college basketball in 2025, where parity reigns.

A staggering 26 players from five different conferences each received at least one vote from our staff panel. And while a few stars separated themselves — like our two unanimous selections, Purdue guard Braden Smith and Texas Tech forward JT Toppin — the overall voting scattershot perfectly illustrates the modern game. It’s easy to bank on established stars like Smith, but how do you evaluate top transfers in new locations? And where do elite freshmen fit, especially with college hoops as old as it’s ever been?

Our list leans toward experience. Eight of our 10 honorees are upperclassmen, with only two projected one-and-done freshmen. (Probably not the one you’re thinking of, either!) Of the eight returning college players, five began their careers elsewhere — including four who ranked as the four best-available transfers this offseason, according to The Athletic’s top-100 list. Lastly, stylistically speaking, we also fall in line with the modern game; we have four true guards and six “forwards,” many of whom will play as much on the perimeter as they do in the post.

But enough prelude. Onto the All-Americans.

First team

Braden Smith, senior guard, Purdue

Shocker: The guy within striking distance of breaking Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record — and the best player on the preseason No. 1 team — leads our list. After co-starring alongside Zach Edey his first two seasons in West Lafayette, Smith stepped into the spotlight last year and didn’t miss a beat. The 6-foot guard dished the second-most assists per game (8.7, trailing only Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard), while also averaging 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game for a team that came within one absurd inbounds play of making the Elite Eight. For his efforts, Smith won Big Ten Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy Award (given to the nation’s best point guard), and was a first-team All-American. We’re not breaking new ground here.

But in Purdue’s quest for a second Final Four berth in three seasons — and for the national championship that has eluded the Big Ten since 2000 — it’s worth asking: Can Smith still get better? His easiest path to appreciable improvement might be as a pick-and-roll handler. Per Synergy, Smith ranked in the 53rd percentile as a pick-and-roll scorer last season, turning it over on 19.2 percent of those possessions; he also shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range in those situations, compared to 42.4 percent as a spot-up shooter. But we’re clearly nitpicking. Smith is the front-runner to become Purdue’s second Wooden Award winner in three seasons.

JT Toppin, junior forward, Texas Tech

Outside of Cooper Flagg and Walter Clayton Jr., did any player surge more late last season than Toppin? Over Texas Tech’s last 15 games — four of which came in the NCAA Tournament — the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 19 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game, looking every bit like the Big 12 Player of the Year and a second-team All-American. Despite the Red Raiders narrowly missing out on the Final Four, Toppin finished the season with the second-best player efficiency rating (PER) in the nation — ahead of Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome, who split national player of the year honors. Plus, his individual game lines are just silly to look back on: 41 points and 15 rebounds against Arizona State, 32 and 12 against Oklahoma State, and 20 and 10 (plus five blocks) against Arkansas in the Sweet 16. Nobody was stopping this dude.

They probably won’t this season, either. After losing second-leading scorer Darrion Williams, Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland should rely on Toppin even more, especially in the junior’s second season in Lubbock after transferring from New Mexico. The Red Raiders may take a slight step back as a team — mostly because of how top-heavy the Big 12 is — but Toppin will be as much of an offensive focal point as anyone in the country.

Yaxel Lendeborg, graduate forward, Michigan

You won’t find anyone on this list with a more fascinating backstory than Lendeborg. The 23-year-old Puerto Rican spent his first three college seasons at Arizona Western — the same junior college that produced NBA Hall of Famer Tiny Archibald — before transferring to UAB. There, the 6-foot-9, 230-pounder emerged as one of the most versatile players in the country, leading the Blazers in every major statistical category last season. Averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game isn’t easy, even outside the high-major level.

Lendeborg had plenty of NBA interest, but after going through the pre-draft process, but the nation’s double-double leader decided to run it back for another year in college, while also transferring up to Michigan. Frankly, it’s hard to think of a better match between player skill set and coach creativity than Lendeborg with Dusty May.

May made waves last season by deploying a devastating dual big man pick-and-roll, featuring 7-footers Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin. Lendeborg isn’t quite that tall, but he’s probably a better handler and passer than Wolf — and definitely a better athlete for his size. There are ample clips that prove it.

It sounds like May will experiment with Lendeborg at the 3 — in gigantic lineups, alongside 6-foot-9 forward Morez Johnson Jr. and 7-foot-3 big Aday Mara — and he’s skilled enough to hang there. Regardless, May will find ways to get Lendeborg the ball both in space and at the rim, where he shot 69.1 percent last season, per CBB Analytics. We’ll see how the rotation shakes out, but one thing’s for certain: Lendeborg and Michigan will be fun.

Cameron Boozer, freshman forward, Duke

Would you look at that: Another top-three overall recruit arriving in Durham for his nine-month, pre-NBA internship. Duke fans were spoiled by Cooper Flagg last season, and it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to produce at the same level as this summer’s No. 1 pick. But … if anyone could similarly be the Blue Devils’ centerpiece right out of the gate, it’s Boozer. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Boozer is 45 pounds heavier than Flagg — and, understandably, much more of an interior force — and his all-around game fits perfectly with Jon Scheyer’s emphasis on versatility. Need interior scoring? Rebounding? Ballhandling? Passing? Someone who can defend multiple positions? Boozer checks every box.

“Can really do everything on the court. He can play basically every position,” Scheyer said. “He thinks basically like another point guard on the floor. Can really shoot the ball. He’s just everything you want a winner to be.”

About Boozer’s history of winning. He led the Nike grassroots circuit in scoring (24.5 points per game) and rebounding (13.4 rebounds per game) this summer, while leading his team to its third consecutive Peach Jam title. That’s on top of four straight Florida high school state titles and the 2025 high school national championship. Individually, he was twice named the Gatorade Player of the Year in high school, including as a 15-year-old. And did we mention his bloodline? His father, Carlos, an All-American at Duke in the early 2000s, played 13 NBA seasons and was a two-time All-Star. Expecting Boozer to follow in his father’s footsteps is asking a lot, but there are few 18-year-olds better prepared and positioned for success.

Darryn Peterson, freshman guard, Kansas

When Bill Self — one of just three active coaches with multiple national titles — calls someone “the most talented incoming freshman we’ve signed,” it’s probably best to listen. Word out of Lawrence this summer backed up Self’s claim about Peterson, the No. 2 recruit in the 2025 class and one of the favorites to go No. 1 in next summer’s NBA Draft. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard has drawn lofty comparisons to Donovan Mitchell (and even Kobe Bryant), but for good reason. Peterson is an ideal lead guard for today’s game, capable of scoring from anywhere with his athleticism and craftiness. Case in point: He averaged 30.4 points (plus 7.4 assists and 7.2 rebounds) during his senior high school season, winning Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year.

The question for Peterson is, what sort of help is he working with? Sophomore big man Flory Bidunga gives Peterson a high-level pick-and-roll partner, and Illinois transfer Tre White is a proven high-major scorer, but otherwise, questions abound down KU’s roster. Peterson will also have to juggle his elite scoring chops with creating for others. After becoming Adidas’ youngest NIL athlete in 2023, Peterson has lived up to lofty expectations, and there’s no reason to think his only year of college basketball will be any different.

Second team

Bennett Stirtz, senior guard, Iowa

The best available transfer in the nation this summer followed his former coach, Ben McCollum, from Drake to Iowa — which means if folks didn’t already know the name Bennett Stirtz, they will soon. The 6-foot-4 guard led Division I in win shares last season (ahead of Flagg), which is impressive enough. Then you realize it was also Stirtz’s first season playing DI. (He previously followed McCollum from Division-II Northwest Missouri State to Drake last offseason.) Some may try to write off Stirtz’s 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game as a product of playing in the Missouri Valley Conference — but that conveniently ignores that he averaged 21 points and six assists in two NCAA Tournament contests against Missouri and Texas Tech. He was one of just three players in all of DI last season — Marquette star Kam Jones was another, for context — to average at least 19, 5, and 4 for the entire year.

Stirtz played the highest percentage of minutes of anyone in the country (98.8 percent, or 39.4 minutes per game). As a scorer, he’s as efficient as they come — per Synergy, he’s in the 84th percentile or better nationally in his top five offensive actions — but it’s just as easy to fall in love with Stirtz’s pace and poise. Against Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament, watch how he freezes the help defender with a fake bounce pass, giving him just enough time to get off his floater:

Level of competition aside, Stirtz is simply a baller. As Iowa looks to establish itself in the post-Fran McCaffery era, it couldn’t have landed a better star to build around.

Darrion Williams, senior forward, NC State

That NC State — which went 12-19 last year and fired Kevin Keatts less than 365 days after a Final Four appearance — landed Williams over Kansas speaks volumes about the Will Wade effect in Raleigh. But there’s a reason Wade and his staff were willing to wait for Williams to go through the NBA pre-draft process. The All-Big 12 first-team honoree was one of five high-major players last season to average at least 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, and he’s one of the best all-around forwards in the country. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder thrived as a playmaking four for Texas Tech last season, where he was as liable to back down smaller defenders as he was to shoot over the top of anyone who dared sag off him. And even though his 3-point percentage dipped a little last season (34 percent on 4.1 attempts per game), that was a career low for someone who has shot 37.9 percent from deep over three seasons at Nevada and Texas Tech. He was recently named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, beating out Boozer.

The version of Williams that NC State is hoping for is the one who averaged 21 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2 steals per game during the Red Raiders’ four NCAA Tournament games. And while Williams’ production is obviously impressive, perhaps more so is having someone who can single-handedly win you games — like Williams did against Arkansas in the Sweet 16, when Grant McCasland isolated him for the game-winning bucket:

Donovan Dent, senior guard, UCLA

Last season, Dent became the first player since 1997 to average at least 20 points and six assists per game while shooting 49 percent overall and 40 percent from 3. Not exactly a surprise that he wound up as the third-best transfer in The Athletic’s top-100 rankings, huh? The Mountain West Player of the Year, Dent is an absolute menace in the pick-and-roll, with near-perfect timing when passing to rollers and punishing defenses with sloppy coverages. Defending Dent is not for the weak of heart.

What’ll be interesting, beyond what Dent’s athleticism and slippery passing look like at the high-major level, is how he integrates UCLA’s other pieces. It was too often last season that Tyler Bilodeau or Eric Dailey Jr. had to make something out of nothing. But Dent’s presence, and rim pressure specifically, should make both their lives significantly easier. (Dent averaged 7.4 shots at the rim per game last season, which ranked in the 99th percentile nationally, according to CBB Analytics.) Analytics sites KenPom and Bart Torvik have UCLA top 10 nationally, and the Bruins are 12th in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, signifying expectations of a deep NCAA Tournament run. Dent is the biggest reason for optimism.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, senior forward, Purdue

The Boilermakers are the only team with two players on our list, and it’s hard to argue with Kaufman-Renn’s inclusion. Kaufman-Renn led the Big Ten in usage rate last season, which correlated to him finishing third in points per game (20.1), most of which came via his national-best 15 paint points per game. Per CBB Analytics, Kaufman-Renn shot 69.7 percent at the rim and 53.6 percent in the paint. Respectively, that’s 7.4 and 12.3 percent better than the national average in both regions. No wonder he led the nation in made field goals and made 2s. Despite some defensive inconsistencies, especially defending the rim, Kaufman-Renn was an honorable-mention All-America selection — and he has the potential to be even better in his final campaign in West Lafayette.

The biggest difference this season will be that he doesn’t have to operate as Purdue’s lone big, and especially not as its defensive stopper. South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff arrives as a much-needed rebounder and defensive presence who should alleviate some of the interior burden. That should allow Kaufman-Renn to focus even more of his efforts on the offensive end, where he and Smith will form arguably the most devastating pick-and-roll combo in the nation. Kaufman-Renn already drew 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes last season — the ninth-best rate amongst all high-major players, per KenPom — and should have a similar impact this season. Speaking of KenPom, the analytics site offers a convenient player comparison for TKR last season: Drew Timme circa 2023, the year the former Gonzaga star was a consensus first-team All-American. If Purdue has the type of year it’s capable of, there’s no reason Kaufman-Renn can’t be in that stratosphere.

Trey Kaufman-Renn is one of the best interior offensive bigs in the country. (Jordan Prather / Imagn Images)

Alex Condon, junior forward, Florida

Condon edged out a handful of others for our final spot, and did so despite his Florida teammates — namely transfer guard Boogie Fland and breakout candidate Thomas Haugh — cannibalizing some of his votes. (Houston, which had three players earn multiple votes but none made the cut, faced a similar issue.) Nonetheless, Condon’s emergence late last season for the national champs clearly stuck in the eyes of our panel. The 6-foot-11 Australian big man briefly tested the NBA Draft waters this summer, but opted to return to Gainesville, where he’ll be a key piece of a Florida frontcourt that should be among the nation’s best. If anything, Condon’s frontcourt partners — Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, and Micah Handlogten — are the only thing that’ll stop him from taking another productive leap, potentially into first-round territory.

On the surface, Condon’s counting stats — 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game — may seem muted compared to our other honorees, but those averages took a hit after he suffered an ankle injury in February that cost him the bulk of four games. When Condon returned, his confidence clearly took something of a hit, because he looked decidedly unlike himself for most of the Gators’ postseason run. Still, when it mattered most in the national title game, Condon delivered, scoring 12 points (second-most on the team, and more than MOP Walter Clayton Jr.) plus adding seven rebounds and four steals. He may not have forced the game-sealing turnover on Emanuel Sharp, but his dive for the ball after the fact prevented Houston from getting off a potential game-winner.

That sort of hustle, combined with Condon’s in-season growth under Todd Golden, is reason to be excited about the junior center’s potential. Per KenPom, Condon was already a top-10 offensive and defensive rebounder in the SEC last season — and he still might be scratching the surface.

Others receiving votes: Solo Ball, UConn (two first-team votes, one second-team vote); Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s; Otega Oweh, Kentucky; AJ Dybantsa, BYU; Emanuel Sharp, Houston (one first-team, three second-team each); Graham Ike, Gonzaga (five second-team); JoJo Tugler, Houston (two first-team); Milos Uzan, Houston (one first-team, two second-team); Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State (three second-team each); Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee (one first-team); Boogie Fland, Florida; Thomas Haugh, Florida; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Tarris Reed, UConn; Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (one second-team each)