TheNCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are teams made up ofNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.
All-America teams incollege basketball were first named by bothCollege Humor magazine and the Christy Walsh Syndicate in 1929. In 1932, theConverse shoe company began publishing All-America teams in their yearly "Converse Basketball Yearbook," and continued doing so until they ceased publication of the yearbook in 1983. TheHelms Athletic Foundation, created in 1936, retroactively named All-America teams for years 1905–35, and also continued naming teams until 1983.[1] TheAssociated Press began naming its team selections in 1948.[1]
While an increasing number of media outlets select All-America teams, the NCAA recognizes consensus All-America teams back to 1905.[2] These teams have drawn from two to six major media sources over the years, and are intended to reflect the opinions of most college basketball experts. Today the four outlets used to select consensus teams are theAssociated Press, theNational Association of Basketball Coaches, theUnited States Basketball Writers Association andSporting News magazine. Since 1984, the NCAA has applied a standardized point system to those teams designated as "major" All-American teams to determine consensus teams. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team.[3]
Through the years, the following media outlets have been recognized and have been used to determine consensus teams. From1905 to1928, the Helms Athletic Foundation All-America teams are considered the "official" teams of those years by the NCAA.[4]
| Granting Institution | Years |
|---|---|
| Helms Athletic Foundation | 1929–1948 |
| College Humor | 1929–1933;1936 |
| Christy Walsh Syndicate | 1929–1930 |
| Converse Yearbook | 1932–1948 |
| The Literary Digest | 1934 |
| Madison Square Garden | 1937 |
| Omaha World | 1937–1942 |
| Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) | 1938;1953–1963 |
| Collyer's News Bureau | 1939 |
| Pic | 1942–1944 |
| Sporting News | 1943–1946;1960–1962;1998–present |
| Argosy | 1945 |
| True | 1946–1947 |
| Associated Press (AP) | 1948–present |
| United Press International (UPI) | 1949–1996 |
| Look | 1949–1962 |
| Collier's | 1949–1956 |
| International News Service | 1950–1958 |
| National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) | 1957–present |
| National Collegiate Association Bureau | 1961 |
| United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) | 1963–present |
The top ten schools with the most consensus first-team All-Americans are listed below, ranked by total number of selections. For a complete list, please see theNCAA records.
| School | Selections | Players | Most recent year | Most recent player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 32 | 25 | 2023 | Jalen Wilson |
| Purdue | 29 | 20 | 2025 | Braden Smith |
| North Carolina | 28 | 19 | 2024 | R. J. Davis |
| Kentucky | 27 | 22 | 2022 | Oscar Tshiebwe |
| Duke | 25 | 22 | 2025 | Cooper Flagg |
| Penn | 24 | 14 | 1953 | Ernie Beck |
| Notre Dame | 23 | 14 | 2015 | Jerian Grant |
| Wisconsin | 22 | 19 | 2022 | Johnny Davis |
| UCLA | 21 | 15 | 2017 | Lonzo Ball |
| Columbia | 19 | 13 | 1957 | Chet Forte |
In 1963, the firstAcademic All-American basketball team was named. The first team, selected by theCollege Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), consisted of:Rod Thorn ofWest Virginia,Ken Charlton ofColorado,Gerry Ward ofBoston College,Art Becker ofArizona State andRay Flynn ofProvidence.[5] CoSIDA has named Academic All-America teams continuously each year since. For a complete list of first-team Academic All-Americans, please see theofficial NCAA records.
| School | Selections | Players |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 17 | 10 |
| Kansas | 15 | 11 |
| Indiana | 13 | 9 |
| Duke | 13 | 8 |
| Notre Dame | 13 | 8 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 9 |
| Kentucky | 9 | 8 |
| Gonzaga | 8 | 7 |
| BYU | 8 | 4 |
| Purdue | 7 | 5 |
Through 2020
In 1986, the Associated Press named the first preseason All-America team for the1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.Navy'sDavid Robinson was the leading vote-getter that year. He was joined on the team bySteve Alford ofIndiana,Danny Manning ofKansas,Kenny Smith ofNorth Carolina andPervis Ellison ofLouisville.[6] In 2011,Harrison Barnes of North Carolina became the first freshman voted a preseason All-American by the AP.[7]