Purdue point guard Braden Smith was voted the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by the league's panel of media and coaches, the Big Ten announced Tuesday.

Smith was the Big Ten Player of the Year last season and is the lone returning first-team All-American in the country. A Boilermaker has won Big Ten Player of the Year three years in a row (Zach Edey did it twice before Smith), the first time that has happened in conference history.

Smith is coming off a season in which he averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds and won the Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. He has set the Big Ten single-season assists record in each of the last two seasons.

Smith was also a preseason All-Big Ten selection, an honor he shared with Boilers teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn. Kaufman-Ren

See Full Page