Big Ten announces 2024-25 preseason men's basketball all-conference team, individual honors

Basketball season is just over the horizon. On Tuesday, the Big Ten released its preseason men’s basketball all-conference team, along with its preseason player of the year.

Ten of the eighteen Big Ten teams had players earn a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. No team had multiple players. However, no player received greater acclaim than Purdue’s Braden Smith, who was named the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.

In the 2023-24 season, Smith started all 39 games for the Boilermakers, playing a school-record 1,327 minutes. En route to an appearance in the national championship, Smith averaged 12.0 points, 7.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc.

For his efforts, he was named a First-Team All-Big Ten selection and Honorable Mention All-American. With former National Player of the Year Zach Edey off to the NBA, Braden Smith will have a chance to become the standalone star of the Boilermakers.

Of course, Smith will have no shortage of stiff competition for the Big Ten Player of the Year Award. This season will be the first in the new era of the Big Ten. With more talent than ever before in the conference, fans can expect an exhilarating season of non-stop action.

To see the complete Preseason All-Big Ten Team, look below:

2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team

• Oumar Ballo, R-Sr.+, C, Indiana
  • 2023-24 Averages (Arizona): 12.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 65.8% FG
• Payton Sandfort, Sr., F, Iowa
  • 2023-24 Averages: 16.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 44.6% FG
• Dawson Garcia, Sr., F, Minnesota
  • 2023-24 Averages: 17.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 48.6% FG
• Brooks Barnhizer, Sr., G, Northwestern
  • 2023-24 Averages: 14.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 42.9% FG
• Bruce Thornton, Jr., G, Ohio State
  • 2023-24 Averages: 15.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.8 apg, 42.7% FG
• Jackson Shelstad, So., G, Oregon
  • 2023-24 Averages: 12.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 45.0% FG
• Ace Baldwin Jr., Sr+, G, Penn State
  • 2023-24 Averages: 14.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 6.0 apg, 38.9% FG
• Braden Smith, Jr., G, Purdue*
  • 2023-24 Averages: 12.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.8 apg, 44.1% FG
• Dylan Harper, Fr., G, Rutgers
  • First-year
• Great Osobor, Sr., F, Washington
  • 2023-24 Averages (Utah State): 17.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 57.7% FG