Nov 09, 2015 03:17 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

For the fourth time ever, The Associated Press named a freshman to its preseason All-America men's basketball team.

Ben Simmons, an incoming freshman power forward at LSU, joins Harrison Barnes, Andrew Wiggins, and Jahlil Okafor as the only freshmen to earn the honor, all four of which doing so since the 2010-2011 season.

Joining Simmons on this year's AP Preseason All American team is Kyle Wiltjer, a senior forward at Gonzaga; Georges Niang, a senior forward at Iowa State; Buddy Hield, a senior guard at Oklahoma; and Kris Dunn, a junior guard at Providence.

Simmons will make his regular season debut Friday night on LSU's home court when they take on the McNeese State Cowboys.

"If it's not sold out, I'll be kind of upset. Hopefully everyone comes out," Simmons said at the SEC Media Days event, according to The AP. "I love seeing fans and them wanting us to win and do well. That really drives me."

Simmons was the number-one high school recruit in the class of 2015, per ESPN's ranking. LSU's 2015 class also included Antonio Blakeney, a shooting guard ranked 14th overall, and Brandon Sampson, a shooting guard ranked 39th overall. ESPN ranked the Tigers' incoming recruits as the third-best class in the nation.

However, the team ranked one spot ahead of them is Kentucky, the team LSU will likely have to overtake if they want to seize the SEC title.

Like Okafor and Wiggins, Simmons was expected to spend one season playing college basketball before he even committed to a school. Simmons is expected to be a highly selected lottery selection in next spring's NBA Draft.

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