Season of Expectations: Illinois' David Mirkovic Named AP Preseason All-American

On Wednesday, the 2026-27 preseason All-America team was released by the Associated Press. Illinois’ David Mirkovic was one of five players on the squad (this isn't one of those laundry-list preseason awards on which seemingly every other player in the country appears). Mirkovic was joined on the list by Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas. 

Mirkovic picked up just 24 votes from the 58-person panel. Meanwhile, Fears and Haugh (57 and 56 votes, respectively) were nearly unanimous picks while Tanner had 43 votes and Krivas reeled in 17. 

Is David Mirkovic one of the best players in college basketball?

Evidently, based on the media voting, Mirkovic is viewed as one of the top players in the country. But his projected jump is what’s so intriguing. Fears and Haugh were All-Americans a season ago. Tanner was an honorable mention All-American. 

Krivas, meanwhile, was first team All-Big 12. As for Mirkovic, he was just an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Now he’s considered one of the five best players in the nation. 

And what has changed? Well, Mirkovic, by all accounts, had an excellent summer. And he’ll certainly step into a larger role for the preseason No. 3 Illini. He is also recovering from a broken foot, but that didn’t deter a slew of voters from foreseeing an exceptional campaign for Mirkovic. 

And it all stands to reason. Mirkovic shot nearly 40 percent from deep as a freshman. He is one of the best playmaking bigs in the country. He can put the ball on the floor and attack from the perimeter. He’s unbelievably dynamic in the post. And he's also one of the top rebounders in the country. 

His biggest weakness – athleticism – was supposedly bolstered in the offseason (although it remains to be seen how he fares post-injury). This isn’t a hot take, but a mere agreement with the voters: Mirkovic, once healthy, will be one of the best players in the college game.

How often do preseason All-Americans actually become All-Americans?

On a separate note, how predictive are the preseason All-American teams of what’s to come? In other words, how typically do preseason All-Americans make the postseason cut?

Well, our sample size is small, but there’s this: Among last year’s preseason All-Americans, four of the five were named to the postseason All-America teams (only Florida’s Alex Condon wasn’t).

A year earlier, six players were named to the preseason squad. Three of the six were eventually first team All-Americans, one was named to the third team and two were left out completely.

So is it a given that Mirkovic (and the rest of his fellow preseason All-Americans) will command similar honors at the end of the season? No. But if the past two years are any indication, it's likely.