Before this season even began, way back in early November, most assumed college basketball would be dominated by frontcourt players given how many accomplished bigs returned to the sport. With only three games remaining in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, it's obvious that assumption was accurate. The CBS Sports All-America teams are a reflection of it.
All five players on our First Team — Purdue's Zach Edey, Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Alabama's Brandon Miller, Gonzaga's Drew Timme and Kansas' Jalen Wilson — are 6-foot-8 or taller and either listed as a forward or center on their schools' official websites. It's the byproduct of our panel of voters submitting ballots with no regard for positions, as has been normalized in college basketball even if it's not the way it's done in football, baseball and most other sports that produce All-Americans.
The top vote-getters among perimeter players were Marquette's Tyler Kolek, Kansas State's Markquis Nowell, Penn State's Jalen Pickett and Houston's Marcus Sasser, each of whom made the Second Team. They were joined on the Second Team by UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The Third Team is Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson, Iowa's Kris Murray, UConn's Adama Sanogo, Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis and Miami's Isaiah Wong. That means Kansas State, fresh off of a run to the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, is the only school that produced multiple CBS Sports All-Americans. The 15 CBS Sports All-Americans come from eight different conferences with the Big Ten (4), Big 12 (3), Big East (2) and Pac-12 (2) accounting for at least two each.
CBS Sports 2022-23 All-America First Team
Zach Edey | Purdue | C | 7-4 | Jr.
Purdue's season ended ignominiously to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, but there is no denying Edey's accomplishments and dominance in 2022-23. The junior center, who was a unanimous selection to the CBS Sports All-America First Team, was the biggest force in the sport for four months. On his way to anchoring Purdue to a Big Ten title and a No. 1 seed, Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 60.7% from the field. This season, he was the first player in history (since blocks became an official NCAA stat) to notch at least 750 points, 400 rebounds, 70 blocks and 50 assists. According to Purdue, Edey's eight 30-and-10 games are the most by a college player in the past two decades, and his 51-game double-digit scoring streak is the longest in men's college basketball. -- Matt Norlander
Jalen Wilson | Kansas | F | 6-8 | RS Jr.
All Jalen Wilson did was return from a national championship winning team that was in need of someone to step up in a major way after the impactful departures of Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and David McCormack. Wilson was stellar for the Big 12 champions, averaging 20.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Though KU had one of the best starting fives in the country, it would've been nowhere near the team it was if not for Wilson's step-up season as a fourth-year junior. Wilson went from Kansas' X-factor in 2021-22 to college basketball All-American. Wilson's rise resembles the kind of trajectory we don't see as often now as we used to 15-plus seasons ago. -- MN
Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana | PF | 6-9 | Sr.
Heading into the Big Ten portion of the season, Edey was thought to be streets ahead of all the competition. And yet, by the end of the season, he only narrowly separated himself from the fast-closing Jackson-Davis, who just finished off a vintage four-year college career. Now one of the best players in school history, Jackson-Davis guided IU to a 23-12 season that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 5 Miami. The Hoosiers earned a No. 4 seed, their best since 2013. Jackson Davis had one of the better all-around stat lines from a Big Ten player in a long time: 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.9 blocks and 58.1% shooting. He leaves IU's program with it being in much better shape than when he got there. -- MN
Brandon Miller | Alabama | SF | 6-9 | Fr.
Alabama's freshman forward was far and away the most talented and productive first-year player in college basketball this season. That said, after his first few months of positive publicity for his gifts on the floor, his basketball ability was understandably and rightfully overshadowed in the back half of the season after his involvement in the death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris became national news that tarnished Alabama's reputation because of the way the school handled the situation. (Miller was never charged, nor a suspect, but police say he delivered the gun that was used in Harris' killing). On the court, Miller averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. -- MN
Drew Timme | Gonzaga | PF | 6-10 | Sr.
For the third consecutive year, Timme is a CBS Sports First Team All-America honoree. One of the more distinct college careers in recent history was written by the one and only Timme, who finished his time at Gonzaga with 2,307 points, 896 rebounds, 325 assists, 115 blocks and 70 steals. He also made 62% of his attempts in his four seasons with the Bulldogs, and irrefutably lays claim to the greatest career in school history. This season, Timme was at his best, putting up career-highs: 21.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists. Though Gonzaga was bulldozed in the Elite Eight by UConn, Timme did put on a top-three game of his career in the Sweet 16 against UCLA: 36 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocks. An American original, and he clinched his First Team candidacy in his final NCAA Tournament. -- MN
CBS Sports 2022-23 All-America Second Team
Marcus Sasser | Houston | SG | 6-2 | Sr.
Sasser was the official drink-stirrer for a Houston team that tied for the most time spent atop the AP poll during the season. He led the Cougars, who finished with a program-best 33 wins, to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament while averaging 16.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. -- Kyle Boone
Jaime Jaquez Jr. | UCLA | G/F | 6-7 | Sr.
UCLA won the third-most games in a season in program history behind leading scorer and rebounder Jaime Jaquez Jr., who was the Bruins' all-everything throughout the season in averaging a career-high 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. UCLA coach Mick Cronin deemed him "one of the best four-year players" in program history. -- KB
Markquis Nowell | Kansas State | PG | 5-8 | Sr.
Nowell's steady production throughout the season had him as a no-brainer All-American. But his star turn in the NCAA Tournament pushed him close to First Team All-American status in leading Kansas State to a magical run in New York. Nowell averaged 23.5 points per game during March Madness, third-most among all players who played in at least two games, including an NCAA record-breaking 19 assist game in the Sweet 16 and a 30-point, 12-assist game in the Elite Eight. -- KB
Jalen Pickett | Penn State | SG | 6-4 | Super Sr.
Penn State won the fourth-most games in program history this season behind the star turn of Jalen Pickett, a former Siena star who blossomed in his second season with the Nittany Lions. Pickett led the Big Ten in assists this season and finished top five in scoring as well, averaging 6.6 assists per game and a career-high in points (17.7) and rebounds (7.4). -- KB
Tyler Kolek | Marquette | PG | 6-3 | Jr.
Marquette finished with a top-10 offense on the season owing to the playmaking and scoring ability of Big East Player of the Year, Tyler Kolek. Kolek ranked second in assist rate on the season among major conference players and finished first and fifth in assists and steals per game among Big East players, respectively. -- KB
CBS Sports 2022-23 All-America Third Team
Isaiah Wong | Miami | SG | 6-4 | Jr.
Wong led Miami in scoring, assists and steals as the Hurricanes marched all the way to the program's first-ever Final Four. The three-time All-ACC performer has been a rock for the Hurricanes during a banner year for the program. -- David Cobb
Adama Sanogo | UConn | C | 6-9 | Jr.
Sanogo led UConn in scoring and rebounding while helping facilitate a Final Four run. The bruising center turned it up a notch in the Big Dance by averaging 20 points and 9.8 rebounds on 65.5% shooting with a pair of double-doubles over the Huskies' first four NCAA Tournament victories. -- DC
Azuolas Tubelis | Arizona | PF | 6-11 | Jr.
Tubelis led the Pac-12 in scoring and won the Pac-12 Tournament MVP as the Wildcats earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-11 star finished the season averaging 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds on 57% shooting. -- DC
Keyontae Johnson | Kansas State | F | 6-6 | Sr.
Johnson capped a remarkable comeback season by helping guide Kansas State to the Elite Eight. The physical wing averaged 17.4 points and 6.8 rebounds while hitting 40.5% of his 3-pointers during the Wildcats' resurgence under first-year coach Jerome Tang. -- DC
Kris Murray | Iowa | SF | 6-8 | Jr.
Murray averaged a whopping 20.2 points on 47.6% shooting for Iowa while more than doubling his scoring production as a junior for an NCAA Tournament team. Murray cemented his place as a likely first-round NBA Draft pick by displaying some defensive skill to go with his smooth offensive game. -- DC
