Braden Smith played with Zach Edey in the 2024 national championship game and followed his large footsteps by becoming an All-American last season.
The Purdue guard had a chance to leave for the NBA over the summer, but, like Edey before him, decided to return for another chance at a national championship under coach Matt Painter.
Smith’s decision earned him another similarity to Edey: unanimous preseason All-American.
Smith earned all 57 votes from a media panel in The Associated Press preseason All-America team released on Monday, a week after the Boilermakers were voted preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time. He was joined on a big man-heavy first team by Texas Tech’s JT Toppin (52 votes), Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg (30), BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa (22) and Florida forward Alex Condon (16).
“That’s just how Purdue has always been, how every player has always been,” Smith said. “Paint recruits players, recruits the same people and that’s how they think, how we think. We always want to be a part of a program like this, a culture like this.”