🏀 Jalen Wilson Named Associated Press All-America First Team

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas redshirt-junior Jalen Wilson has been named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, the AP announced Tuesday.

The AP and The Sporting News are two of the four outlets that make up the collaboration of the NCAA Consensus All-America teams, and Wilson has garnered first-team honors for both. Kansas’ last AP All-America First Team selection was Ochai Agbaji, who went on to be Consensus All-America First Team in 2022. In the Bill Self era at Kansas, Wilson is the sixth player named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, joining Agbaji, Devonte’ Graham (2018), Frank Mason III (2017), Thomas Robinson (2012) and Wayne Simien (2005). KU has had a player named AP All-America first, second, third or honorable mention team 20 times in the Self era.

The unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team selection, Wilson leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.1 points per game, which is 26th nationally. Wilson has two 30-point performances and 20 games of 20 or more points scored this season, including each of his last five games. The Denton, Texas, forward also leads the Big 12 with 8.4 rebounds per game and 22 double-doubles.

On nearly every national player of the year watch list, Wilson ranks tied for 27th on the Kansas career scoring list, currently at 1,435 points, and his 791 career rebounds are 14th on the KU list. Wilson’s 28 career double-doubles are ninth on the KU all-time list.

Joining Wilson on the 2023 AP All-America First Team is Zach Edey (Purdue), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Marcus Sasser (Houston) and Brandon Miller (Alabama).

No. 1 seed Kansas (27-7) will begin the defense of its NCAA National Championship against No. 16 seed Howard (22-12) on Thursday, March 16, at 1 p.m. CT, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The game will be televised on TBS.