KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Auburn front court duo of freshman forward Jabari Smith (Fayetteville, Ga.) and sophomore center Walker Kessler (Newnan, Ga.) have been selected to the 2022 NABC Division I All-District 20 First Team, as voted on by the National Association of Basketball Coaches released on Tuesday.
Smith and Kessler continue to receive postseason accolades having already been tabbed SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year respectively. Both recently earned All-America honors by Sports Illustrated – Smith on the publication's first team and Kessler on the third team. The first Auburn All-American duo since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson in 1998-99.
The No. 8-ranked Tigers will play in the NCAA First Round on Friday – Smith's first appearance in March Madness and Kessler's second appearance after transferring from North Carolina.
SEC Coach of the Year Bruce Pearl was also honored as NABC District 20 Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to their first outright SEC regular-season championship title since 1999 and No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed. He is a finalist for the Naismith Men's Coach of the Year Award.
NABC DISTRICT 20
First Team
Walker Kessler - Auburn
Iverson Molinar - Mississippi State
Scotty Pippen Jr. - Vanderbilt
Jabari Smith - Auburn
Oscar Tshiebwe - Kentucky
Second Team
Colin Castleton - Florida
JD Notae - Arkansas
Jaden Shackelford - Alabama
Santiago Vescovi - Tennessee
Jaylin Williams - Arkansas
Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl – Auburn
