There will soon be a new All-American banner in the rafters of Mackey Arena. Braden Smith, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, was named a First Team All-American today by the Sporting News, the first of likely many postseason honors that are headed his way. Smith is the 33rd different player in Purdue history to be named an All-American, and it is the 56th All-America honor in school history. With a likely "consensus" designation coming for Smith, Purdue will have the second most consensus All-American in college basketball all-time with 28, trailing only Kansas' 31.

As a reminder, to be considered a Consensus All-American Smith has to be selected by two of the four "major" services of The Sporting News, Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Purdue has now had three guards named All-American in the last seven years (Carsen Edwards – 2018, 2019; Jaden Ivey – 2022; Braden Smith – 2025). Purdue and Marquette are the only schools in the country to make that claim.

Purdue’s five first-team honors since the 2016-17 season are tied for the most in the country with Kansas (Caleb Swanigan – 2017; Jaden Ivey – 2022; Zach Edey – 2023, 2024; Braden Smith – 2025).

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