Gophers' Cade Tyson Egregiously Snubbed From All-Big Ten Honors

Despite averaging the seventh-most points per game in the conference, star Gophers forward Cade Tyson was egregiously left off all three All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday.

WOW… Gophers star Cade Tyson was SNUBBED from all 3 all-conference teams, and named honorable mention.

19.5 PPG (7th)
49.3 FG%
42.1 3P%
82.4 FT%
5.4 RPG
2.2 APG
13 20PT games

I don’t really understand how that’s not a top 15 player in the conference. pic.twitter.com/AeI9XC7yGa
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) March 10, 2026

First team All-Big Ten

Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
Braden Smith, Purdue

Second team All-Big Ten

Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Nick Boyd, Wisconsin

Third team All-Big Ten

Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan
Aday Mara, Michigan
Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
Hannes Steinbach, Washington
John Blackwell, Wisconsin

Tyson was one of seven players named All-Big Ten honorable mention. He averaged the seventh-most points per game at 19.5 on efficient 49.3/42.1/82.4 shooting splits. It's easy to say a player got snubbed every year, but there's a legitimate argument to think Tyson got overlooked. Here's why.

Right off the bat, Michigan was an all-time great team, but they didn't need three players to make all-conference. Mara and Johnson were great players all season, but Tyson had 5.1 win shares on a team that was voted to finish near the bottom of the conference.

Despite a multitude of season-ending injuries, the Gophers have eight conference wins. Johnson had 5.0 win shares, and Mara had 3.9. If you switch either player on Minnesota's roster with Tyson, the Gophers probably wouldn't have gotten eight conference wins.

It's hard to argue against Steinbach's spot, but Tyson's 5.1 win shares are higher than both Bilodeau's at 4.4 and Blackwell's at 4.0. Winning always matters with all-conference honors, but I think it's carrying a bit too much weight in both of their cases over Tyson.

If you're going to argue Minnesota's 11th-place finish against Tyson's right to be an all-conference player, including Martinelli, despite Northwestern finishing 13-18 and 0-2 against Tyson's Gophers, it seems like a miss.

In the modern transfer portal era, following the one-and-done era in the early 2000s and 2010s, it's hard to find a player with a better single season in Gophers history other than Tyson. It's fun to argue about who deserves what in sports, and oftentimes it's nonsense. This time, I think the Big Ten got things very wrong.

Tyson played the third-most minutes in the entire conference this season, and he has been the most consistent player on a Gophers team that had no business finishing in 11th place. Win shares can be viewed as a silly analytical stat, but they do a good job of showing how valuable a player is to their team. Tyson's 5.1 is more than four out of the five players on the third team, three players on the second team, and even matches Smith on the first team.

Tyson got snubbed. Big time.