By Jim Meehan / The Spokesman-Review
Gonzaga senior forward Corey Kispert was named to the AP preseason All-America team, the Bulldogs’ first first-team selection since Kyle Wiltjer prior to the 2016 season.
Kispert, an Edmonds native who attended King’s High School, and Arizona State’s senior Remy Martin tied for the fifth and final spot. They’re joined on the first team by Iowa senior Luka Garza, Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham, Baylor senior Jared Butler and Illinois junior Ayo Dosunmu.
Gonzaga, ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll, faces No. 2 Baylor on Dec. 5 in Indianapolis and No. 5 Iowa on Dec. 19 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Kispert earned numerous honors after averaging 13.9 points and hitting a team-leading 78 3-pointers last season. He was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, first-team All-WCC, U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District IX, Academic All-WCC (for the second time) and the DI-AAA Athletic Directors Association (ADA) men’s basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The business administration major carries a 3.43 grade-point average.
Kispert improved his scoring average by nearly six points from his sophomore season. The 6-foot-7 wing paced GU in minutes played (33.0 per game). He made 43.8% of his 3-point attempts, highest among players in the rotation, and 81% percent at the free-throw line. He contributed 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Gonzaga is 95-10 in Kispert’s 105 career games. The Zags have captured three WCC regular-season titles and reached the 2018 Sweet 16 and 2019 Elite Eight. Gonzaga was projected as a No. 1 seed before last year’s NCAA tournament was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kispert declared for the NBA draft before opting to return for his senior season. He was recently named CBSSports.com preseason first-team All-America, preseason first-team All-WCC and he’s on the Erving Award preseason watch list. He was listed No. 9 on CBSSports.com’s preseason top 101 players.
Wiltjer received the most preseason All-America votes from the AP media panel entering his senior season. Rui Hachimura was tied for ninth in the 2019 preseason balloting.
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