With just two weeks until the college hoops season gets underway in earnest, the Associated Press on released its First Team All-America squad on Wednesday, led by Iowa's Luka Garza, Baylor's Jared Butler and Gonzaga's Corey Kispert, the star talents for three of the teams ranked inside the preseason top five. Butler, Garza and Kispert were all named to the AP's All-America team along with Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham, Illinois junior Ayo Dosunmu and Arizona State senior Remy Martin. Kispert and Martin tied for the final spot to make it a six-man First Team.
Garza was the only unanimous selection. He's coming off a breakout junior season in which he averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for the Hawkeyes, which earned him AP All-America honors and a runner-up finish to Obi Toppin in National Player of the Year voting in 2019-20.
Butler brings similar credentials to the table as the unquestioned alpha for a Baylor team that has national championship aspirations. He averaged 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season for a Bears team that spent all but five weeks ranked in the top 10, and occupied more consecutive time in the No. 1 spot than any other team.
The only freshman to earn inclusion on this year's All-America team is Cunningham, the No. 1 recruit in America who arrives at Oklahoma State as the frontrunner to become the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
2020-21 preseason AP All-America team
- Luka Garza, forward, Iowa
- Jared Butler, guard, Baylor
- Cade Cunningham, guard, Oklahoma State
- Ayo Dosunmu, guard Illinois
- Corey Kispert, forward, Gonzaga
- Remy Martin, guard, Arizona State
