Baylor College issued the following announcement.
Baylor men's basketball junior guard Jared Butler was one of six players named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team, as announced Wednesday by the AP.
Butler joined Iowa's Luka Garza, Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham, Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu, Gonzaga's Corey Kispert and Arizona State's Remy Martin to form a six-man Preseason All-America Team. Kispert and Martin tied for the final spot, expanding the team beyond its traditional five members.
Butler could potentially go up against four of the other five members of the AP Preseason All-America Team during the regular season. BU opens the season on Nov. 25 against Martin's No. 18-ranked Arizona State team. The Bears could also face No. 8 Illinois and Dosunmu in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 2, and BU is scheduled to square off against No. 1 Gonzaga and Kispert on Dec. 5. Baylor will face Cunningham when the Bears travel to Oklahoma State on Jan. 23 and again when they host the Cowboys on Feb. 20.
A unanimous third-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2019-20, Butler went through the NBA Draft process during the offseason before electing to return to Baylor for his 2020-21 junior season. As a sophomore, Butler led the Bears with 16.0 points per game, while shooting .381 from 3-point range and averaging 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.4 minutes per game.
The Reserve, La., native has been named Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and was a unanimous choice to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. He's also on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award watch list.
Baylor's No. 2 AP preseason ranking is the highest in program history, and the Bears have been projected atop the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll for the first time in program history, garnering seven of nine potential first-place votes. BU's Butler was named preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, while Mark Vital and MaCio Teague were honorable mention Preseason All-Big 12.
Baylor returns four players who earned All-Big 12 honors last season. Butler was a unanimous First-Team choice, while Teague was All-Big 12 Second Team, and Davion Mitchell and Vital were All-Big 12 Third Team, with Mitchell named the league's Newcomer of the Year.
Additional returners include juniors Flo Thamba and Matthew Mayer, senior Tristan Clark and sophomore Jackson Moffatt. The Bears add three players who redshirted last season with freshman Jordan Turner and sophomores Adam Flagler and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. BU also welcomes three top-100 incoming freshmen in LJ Cryer, Dain Dainja and Zach Loveday, as well as walk-on grad transfer Mark Paterson.
Head coach Scott Drew enters his 18th season at Baylor in 2020-21. He holds a 362-224 career record over 18 years as a Division I coach, including a 340-213 mark at BU. Drew's teams have combined to post a 306-144 record over the last 13 seasons, recording a 21-10 mark over 11 postseason appearances in that span.
Baylor Athletics expects to open the season with 25 percent capacity in the Ferrell Center, and renewed season ticket holders will have exclusive priority. Additional information on the adjusted ticketing process has been provided by the Baylor Bear Foundation here. Follow @BaylorMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the year.
2020-21 AP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Luka Garza, Iowa
Jared Butler, Baylor
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Remy Martin, Arizona State
Others receiving votes: Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton 22; Collin Gillespie, Villanova; Garrison Brooks, North Carolina 10; Marcus Garrett, Kansas 9; Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana, 5; Jalen Crutcher, Dayton, 3; Trendon Watford, LSU, 3; Kofi Cockburn, Illinois, 2; Oliver Sarr, Kentucky, 1; Kihei Clark, Virginia, 1; Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova, 1; Javonte Smart, LSU, 1; Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia, 1; Sam Hauser, Virginia, 1.
2020-21 BAYLOR MBB PRESEASON HONORS
Jared Butler
Preseason All-America Team (Associated Press)
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year
Preseason All-Big 12 Team (unanimous)
Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List
MaCio Teague
Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention
Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List
Mark Vital
Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention
Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List
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PLAYERS MENTIONED
#12 Jared Butler
G 6' 3" 195 lbs Junior 3rd Year
#25 Tristan Clark
F 6' 10" 235 lbs Senior 4th Year
#10 Adam Flagler
G 6' 3" 180 lbs Sophomore 2nd Year
#24 Matthew Mayer
G/F 6' 9" 225 lbs Junior 3rd Year
#45 Davion Mitchell
G 6' 2" 205 lbs Junior 3rd Year
#13 Jackson Moffatt
G/F 6' 7" 200 lbs Sophomore 3rd Year
#23 Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua
F 6' 8" 245 lbs Sophomore 2nd Year
#31 MaCio Teague
G 6' 4" 195 lbs Senior 3rd Year
#0 Flo Thamba
F 6' 10" 245 lbs Junior 3rd Year
#5 Jordan Turner
G/F 6' 8" 195 lbs Freshman 2nd Year
Original source can be found here.
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