KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Dalton Knecht of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is an Associated Press First Team All-American, as announced Tuesday afternoon.
The AP is the second of the four organizations—the others are the NABC, The Sporting News and the USBWA—utilized for, in aggregate, determining the consensus All-America teams. Knecht previously claimed unanimous first-team plaudits from The Sporting News.
Fifty-six of the 62 AP voters listed Knecht as a first-team selection and he finished with 298 points in the balloting, both the second-highest totals of any player in the country. Knecht, Purdue’s Zach Edey and North Carolina’s R.J. Davis were in the top 10 on all 62 ballots.
Knecht is the second Tennessee player in the last 41 seasons (1983-2024) to receive AP First Team All-America plaudits, joining Grant Williams, who did so in 2018-19. Dale Ellis (1982-83) and Bernard King (1976-77) are the other Volunteers to earn the recognition.
In his lone year at Tennessee, Knecht is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 39.7 percent beyond the arc. The Thornton, Colo., native tallied 25.5 points per contest in SEC play, the best conference scoring average of any Division I player in the nation and the second-best mark in the SEC over the last 22 seasons (2002-24).
The SEC Player of the Year, as voted by the 14 head coaches in the leagues and unanimously by the Associated Press, Knecht is among the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy and the 15 individuals on the Wooden Award National Ballot. The fifth-year guard is also one of the five finalists for the Julius Erving Award.
A 6-foot-6, 213-pounder Knecht has scored 20-plus points 16 times this season, including 25-plus in 11 outings, 30-plus in seven, 35-plus in five and 39-plus thrice, with the latter two marks tying the school record for a single campaign.
Two other SEC players claimed AP All-America accolades, as Alabama’s Mark Sears is on the second team and Auburn’s Johni Broome is on the third team. In addition, the Kentucky duo of Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard made the honorable mention list.
Knecht and sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) begin NCAA Tournament action Thursday at 9:20 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C., where they face No. 15-seeded Saint Peter’s (19-13, 12-8 MAAC), live on TNT from Spectrum Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
2023-24 ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICANS
First Team (First-Team Votes; Points)
Zach Edey, Purdue (62 of 62; 310)
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee (56; 298)
R.J. Davis, North Carolina (55; 296)
Jamal Shead, Houston (52; 281)
Tristen Newton, Connecticut (39; 254)
Second Team (First-Team Votes; Points)
Tyler Kolek, Marquette (11, 172)
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton (6, 132)
Mark Sears, Alabama (3, 122)
Kyle Filipowski, Duke (5, 120)
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (2, 113)
Third Team (First-Team Votes; Points)
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State (5, 109)
Johni Broome, Auburn (4, 91)
Caleb Love, Arizona (3, 88)
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton (0, 70)
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (1, 54)
Honorable Mentions (alphabetical order; players on multiple ballots)
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Keion Brooks Jr., Washington
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Devin Carter, Providence
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Tucker DeVries, Drake
Enrique Freeman, Akron
P.J. Hall, Clemson
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
David Jones, Memphis
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Great Osobor, Utah State
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Braden Smith, Purdue
Cam Spencer, Connecticut
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina
