SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah center Branden Carlson was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team for the second consecutive season Tuesday in a vote of the conference’s coaches.
Carlson, a 7-foot, fifth-year senior, was joined on the all-conference teams by newcomer Deivon Smith, who was an honorable mention selection.
Carlson becomes the first player in school history to earn three All-Pac-12 honors and joins Delon Wright (2014 and 2015) as the other other Runnin’ Ute with back-to-back first-team selections. Carlson was an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection in 2021-22.
The South Jordan native and former Bingham High School star had the best season of his collegiate career in 2023-24, leading the Utes in points (17.5), rebounds (6.9) and blocked shots (1.6) and ranking second in minutes played (29.7) per game.
Carlson’s 40 points at Oregon State on March 7 were the most scored in Pac-12 play this season. Two nights later, he sustained an elbow injury in the Utes’ 66-65 loss at Oregon in the regular-season finale.
While he hasn’t yet been ruled out, Carlson is unlikely to play when sixth-seeded Utah (18-13 overall, 9-11 Pac-12) takes on 11th-seeded Arizona State (14-17, 8-12) at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
Smith, a 6-foot senior guard from Decatur, Georgia, averages 12.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and a team-high 6.6 assists per game, while shooting 45.5% from the floor, 34% from 3-point range and 70.1% from the free throw line. He posted three triple-doubles during Pac-12 play, becoming the first player in the conference to do so since Andre Iguodala in 2003-04.
Smith started his collegiate career as a freshman at Mississippi State, then played two seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to Utah.
2023-24 Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball awards
- Player of the Year: Caleb Love, Arizona
- Defensive Player of the Year: Adem Bona, UCLA
- Freshman of the Year: Myles Rice, Washington State
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
- Sixth Player of the Year: Koren Johnson, Washington
- Coach of the Year: Kyle Smith, Washington State
First Team
- Oumar Ballo, Arizona
- Adem Bona, UCLA
- Keion Brooks Jr., Washington
- Branden Carlson, Utah
- N’Faly Dante, Oregon
- Isaac Jones, Washington State
- Caleb Love, Arizona
- Myles Rice, Washington State
- KJ Simpson, Colorado
- Jaylon Tyson, California
Second Team
- Jermaine Couisnard, Oregon
- Tristan da Silva, Colorado
- Boogie Ellis, USC
- Pelle Larsson, Arizona
- Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Honorable Mention
- Isaiah Collier, USC
- Frankie Collins, Arizona State
- Jordan Pope, Oregon State
- Deivon Smith, Utah
- Jaylen Wells, Washington State
All-Freshman Team
- Isaiah Collier, USC
- Sebastian Mack, UCLA
- Myles Rice, Washington State
- Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
- Cody Williams, Colorado
All-Defensive Team
- Oumar Ballo, Arizona
- Adem Bona, UCLA
- Frankie Collins, Arizona State
- N’Faly Dante, Oregon
- Kobe Johnson, USC
