Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr., Florida's Thomas Haugh lead 2026-27 AP preseason All-America team
The preseason AP All-America team is headlined by five returning stars in college basketball
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The Associated Press released its 2026-27 preseason All-America men's basketball team on Wednesday, which featured five returning stars from last season. Michigan State star point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (57 first-place votes), who was voted as the preseason Player of the Year by CBS Sports, came one vote shy of earning unanimous preseason All-American honors.
Florida star Thomas Haugh (56) received the second-most votes behind Fears. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, Illinois forward David Mirkovic and Arizona center Motiejus Krivas rounded out the five-man All-American team. Krivas (17 votes) edged out Louisville's Flory Bidunga, UConn's Braylon Mullins and Duke's John Blackwell for the final spot on the All-American team.
Despite the impact and prevalence of transfers in college basketball, the five leading vote-getters for the AP's preseason All-American team in 2026-27 are all returning to the same team they played for last season. It's an Indicator of the value of retention when it comes to roster-building in the sport.
Fears averaged 15.2 points and a nation-leading 9.4 assists per game during the 2025-26 campaign and returns as one of the faces of the sport. Haugh is also one of the most recognizable faces in college basketball after bypassing the 2026 NBA Draft to return to school for his senior season.
Haugh's Florida team will begin the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
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Mirkovic (No. 3), Krivas (No. 5) and Tanner (No. 24) lead teams ranked in the preseason AP poll. Mirkovic and Krivas both helped their respective programs break Final Four droughts this past season, while Vanderbilt reached the SEC title game and won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
Here is the full AP preseason All-American team.
2026-27 AP preseason All-America team
| Player | School |
| Jeremy Fears Jr. | Michigan State |
| Thomas Haugh | Florida |
| Tyler Tanner | Vanderbilt |
| David Mirkovic | Illinois |
| Motiejus Krivas | Arizona |
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