KU’s Ochai Agbaji earns first-team All-American nod from The Sporting News

By Matt Tait Mar 7, 2022

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji, center, drives around Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson (0) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

One day after being named the Big 12 Conference player of the year by the league’s coaches, Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji landed his first All-American honor.

Voted a first-teamer by The Sporting News, Agbaji is well on his way to racking up a collection of All-American nods, with most expecting him to land on the first team of many of the postseason All-American teams.

Agbaji has been tracking toward these types of accolades since the opening night of the season, when he dropped 29 points on Michigan State in the Champions Classic last November. That performance proved to be a springboard for a season that featured 17 20-point games and five games of 25 points or more.

As TSN pointed out in its blurb about Agbaji, his defining moment of the season came when he scored 37 points in a home win over Texas Tech. Included in those 37 points was a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime to save the Jayhawks and force a second OT.

By season’s end, that shot and the Kansas victory it led to, helped KU earn a share of the Big 12 regular season title.

In addition to being KU’s top threat, Agbaji led the Big 12 in scoring at 19.8 points per game while finishing second in the conference in both 3-point percentage (41.1%) and 3-point makes per game (2.9).

His scoring average put him 25th in the nation and his 3-point percentage was good for the 26th best mark in NCAA Division I.

Joining Agbaji on 2021-22 Sporting News All-American first team were Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), Keegan Murray (Iowa) and Kofi Cockburn (Illinois).

Here’s a list of Agbaji’s 2021-22 honors to date…

The Sporting News All-America First Team

Big 12 Player of the Year

All-Big 12 First Team

Wooden Award Final Ballot (1 of 15)

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Finalist (1 of 5)

Academic All-Big 12 Second Team

co-Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 21)

Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team (1 of 30)

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List (top 10)

Big 12 Player of the Week (1.24.22)

The Sporting News Midseason All-American Second Team

Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 17)

Big 12 Player of the Week (Nov. 22)

Big 12 Player of the Week (Nov. 15)

Wooden Award Preseason Top 50

Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 50)

NABC Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 20)

Preseason All-Big 12

Big 12 coaches name Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji conference player of the year

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.