He was the prized prospect in last year’s recruiting class. Now all eyes are on Cooper Flagg to have the sort of debut season that shows why.

Flagg, a Newport native and freshman on the Duke men’s basketball team, was named to the Associated Press preseason All-America team Monday. He’s the only underclassman to make the list.

Joining him are Alabama guard Mark Sears, North Carolina guard RJ Davis, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome and Arizona guard Caleb Love. Flagg and Love received 24 of 55 votes apiece to tie for the final spot, creating the six-man team.

The 6-foot-9, 205-pound Flagg is the first freshman to make the team since 2020, when Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State earned a spot. Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game at Montverde Academy in Florida last year.

The designation for Flagg is the latest example in a wave of hype and expectations that have followed him since the start of his high school career. After leading Nokomis to the Class A championship as a freshman in 2022, he transferred to prep power Montverde, where he became the No. 1 prospect in the country while leading the Eagles to the national title this past season.

Flagg has already been projected as the No. 1 overall in the NBA draft in June. He made his preseason debut against Division II Lincoln University on Saturday, starting and playing 24 minutes. He scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and also totaled four blocks and six assists as the Blue Devils won, 107-56.

“It felt great, an incredible atmosphere,” Flagg said. “It was incredibly special. It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was young, playing college basketball, and I dreamed about playing at Duke as well. So just getting that experience, the first time playing against a real opponent, it was kind of surreal.”

Duke will open its regular season Nov. 4 at home against Maine.