Exclusion from All-America Team Rare for Player of Trey Kaufman-Renn's Caliber
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If you believe that Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn has been disrespected by the media over the last year, you may be correct. Based on his stats from last season, it's incredibly rare for a player of his caliber to not receive All-American honors from the Associated Press.
Monday, the AP released its list of preseason All-Americans for the 2025-26 college basketball season. Senior Purdue guard Braden Smith was the only unanimous selection, with JT Toppin (Texas Tech), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), and Alex Condon (Florida) occupying the other four spots.
Despite averaging 20.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game and shooting 59.5% from the field last season, Kaufman-Renn was not included on the AP's All-American team. Per Purdue sports information director Chris Forman, the senior forward is the first Power Five player since 1998 to hit those marks and fail to receive any All-America honors from the Associated Press.
Trey Kaufman-Renn became the first “power 5” player since 1998 to average 20 PPG, 6 RPG, 2 APG and shoot at least 59 % from the field and NOT be an All-American.
— Chris Forman (@Chris_Forman12) October 20, 2025
Five of the players during that timeframe to reach those marks were NPOY.
It's been nearly 30 years since a player of Kaufman-Renn's caliber didn't receive All-America honors. So, if you're a believer that the Purdue forward has been disrespected, you have a fairly valid argument.
Kaufman-Renn received third-team All-America honors from CBS Sports following the 2024-25 season and was an AP honorable mention. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection at the end of his junior campaign.
Kaufman-Renn focused on winning a national title
While fans may argue and bicker about whether or not Kaufman-Renn deserves All-American status — and clearly there's an argument to be made — the senior forward is focused on bringing a national championship to West Lafayette.
That's the top priority for Purdue entering the 2025-26 season.
"We have 'National Champs' (written) on our whiteboard in our locker room," Kaufman-Renn told theField of 68 in an interview. "After every practice, we look at that and say, 'Did we do our best to compete for that today?' It's a good thing that we're doing this year."
Purdue was named the No. 1 team in the Associated Press' preseason poll and has one of the deepest rosters in college basketball. What's it going to take in order to win it all this year?
"I think just executing the gameplan. I know that sounds super simple," Kaufman-Renn said. "It's really just executing the gameplan and staying together through the ups and downs. Whether your playing 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, three minutes, everybody on this team can really play. When you have a team like that, you just have to execute the gameplan."
The Boilermakers are in action on Friday, Oct. 24, playing No. 9 Kentucky in an exhibition game at Rupp Arena.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- BRADEN SMITH BY THE DATA: Evan Miyakawa's preseason ratings have Purdue's Braden Smith listed as the best player in college basketball. How wide is the gap between Smith and the rest? CLICK HERE
- PAINTER NOT CHANGING RECRUITING PHILOSOPHY: Purdue's recent success opens the program up to landing better recruits. But Matt Painter says he doesn't want "better players," he wants the "same people." CLICK HERE
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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