Dalton Knecht named AP First Team All-American

It was a given, but it’s now official. Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht has been named to the first team All-American team, as voted on by the Associated Press. Knecht, who transferred in from Northern Colorado this offseason, completely dominated conference play on his way to being named the SEC Player of the Year.

Knecht joined Purdue’s Zach Edey, North Carolina’s RJ Davis, UConn’s Tristen Newton and Houston’s Jamal Shead on the first-team roster.

In his lone season on Rocky Top, Knecht averaged over 21 points per game. That number went to over 25 points in SEC play. Knecht has given Tennessee a true alpha on the offensive end, which is something that they haven’t really had since the days of Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield.

Knecht has gone from a portal addition to a likely NBA first round pick. Mock drafts have him landing anywhere from the lottery to the 25th pick, with his size and scoring ability setting him apart from the rest.

Knecht is the 25th All-American player in Tennessee history — just the fourth since 2000. Grant Williams was the last to take home first-team honors back in 2018-19.

Tennessee hasn’t had a scorer like this under Rick Barnes in the NCAA Tournament. Frankly, Barnes hasn’t had a scorer of this caliber since his days at Texas with Kevin Durant. Will that be enough to finally get Tennessee over the hump in March? We’re about to find out.