First-Year College Players Dominate AP All-America Basketball Honors

Three freshman basketball players earned first-team Associated Press All-America recognition, marking an unprecedented showing for newcomers. Duke's Cameron Boozer received unanimous selection, joining BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Arkansas's Darius Acuff Jr. on the elite squad.

First-year college basketball players made history Tuesday when three freshmen earned spots on the Associated Press All-America first team, with Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, and Arkansas’s Darius Acuff Jr. receiving the prestigious honor.

Rounding out the top five selections were Michigan senior Yaxel Lendeborg and Texas Tech junior JT Toppin.

Boozer achieved unanimous recognition, appearing on all 61 voting ballots. This marks the second consecutive year a Duke freshman has earned universal acclaim, following Cooper Flagg’s perfect selection last season. Dybantsa garnered 57 first-team votes while Acuff secured 47.

The Blue Devils, led by Boozer’s stellar play, captured both the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship and tournament crown, earning them the top overall seed in March Madness. Boozer has posted impressive numbers with 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest.

Dybantsa tops the nation’s scoring charts at 25.3 points per game while contributing 6.7 rebounds. His selection makes him just the third BYU player to earn first-team honors, joining Danny Ainge and Jimmer Fredette. The Cougars enter the tournament as a sixth seed.

Arkansas hasn’t celebrated a first-team All-American since Sidney Moncrief claimed the distinction in 1978-79. Acuff has delivered 22.9 points and 6.5 assists per game for the fourth-seeded Razorbacks.

Lendeborg has helped propel Michigan to a No. 1 tournament seed, becoming the first Wolverines player to earn first-team recognition since Trey Burke accomplished the feat in 2012-13. He contributes 14.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Toppin earned second-team All-America honors last year when Texas Tech advanced to the Elite Eight. Now the program’s first-ever first-team selection, he unfortunately suffered a torn right ACL and will miss the tournament despite averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds across 25 games for the fifth-seeded Red Raiders.

The second team features Purdue’s Braden Smith, Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., Illinois’s Keaton Wagler, Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson, and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.

Third-team selections include Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr., and Florida’s Thomas Haugh.

Honorable mention recognition went to Arizona’s Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, Kansas’s Darryn Peterson, St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor, Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Butler’s Michael Ajayi, Kansas State’s P.J. Haggerty, Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner.