Despite a strong season in the Big Ten by Wisconsin, you would not know it by the way they were treated in terms of league honors.Just one Badger made any of the three honor teams, as John Tonje was on the first. John Blackwell made honorable mention after Wisconsin finished fifth overall in the conference.That was from the coaches, with the media offering up the exact same situation.Tonje was an obvious unanimous choice, as he was a serious candidate for league player of the year, an award that went to Purdue for the three straight season when Braden Smith was named.Tom Izzo of Michigan State was tabbed coach of the year after leading the Spartans to the regular season title, with Doug Wojcik picking up assistant of the year from Michigan State.Ace Baldwin Jr. of Penn State was defensive player of the year, Derik Queen from Maryland the top freshman and Will Riley of Illinois earned sixth-man honors.2024-25 ALL-BIG TEN HONORSAs selected by Big Ten Coaches PLAYER OF THE YEARBraden Smith, Purdue DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEARAce Baldwin Jr., Penn State FRESHMAN OF THE YEARDerik Queen, Maryland SIXTH MAN OF THE YEARWill Riley, Illinois COACH OF THE YEARTom Izzo, Michigan StateHOWARD MOORE ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDDoug Wojcik, Michigan StateFIRST TEAMDerik Queen, MarylandBrice Williams, NebraskaTREY KAUFMAN-RENN, PurdueBRADEN SMITH, PurdueJOHN TONJE, Wisconsin SECOND TEAMVladislav Goldin, MichiganDanny Wolf, MichiganDawson Garcia, MinnesotaNick Martinelli, NorthwesternBruce Thornton, Ohio State THIRD TEAM*Kasparas Jakucionis, IllinoisJa’Kobi Gillespie, MarylandJaden Akins, Michigan StateJase Richardson, Michigan StateNate Bittle, OregonJackson Shelstad, OregonTyler Bilodeau, UCLA HONORABLE MENTIONOumar Ballo, IndianaPayton Sandfort, IowaJulian Reese, MarylandAce Baldwin Jr., Penn StateAce Bailey, RutgersDyler Harper, RutgersJohn Blackwell, Wisconsin ALL-FRESHMAN TEAMKasparas Jakucionis, IllinoisDERIK QUEEN, MarylandJase Richardson, Michigan StateAce Bailey, RutgersDylan Harper, Rutgers ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMJadin Akins, Michigan StateTJ Bamba, OregonNateBittle, OregonAce Baldwin Jr., Penn StateKobe Johnson, UCLA 2024-25 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award HonoreesBen Humrichous, ILL; Anthony Leal, IND, Ladji Dembele, IOWA; Selton Miguel, MD; Nimari Burnett, MICH; Nick Sanders, MSU; Kadyn Betts, MINN; Rollie Worster, NEB; Brooks Barnhizer, NU; James Cooper, ORE; Kalen Etzler, OSU; Puff Johnson, PSU; Caleb Furst, PUR; Zach Martini, RU; Lazar Stefanovic, UCLA; Harrison Hornery, USC; Wilhelm Breidenbach, WASH; Markus Ilver, WIS.As selected by Media Voting PanelPLAYER OF THE YEARBraden Smith, Purdue FRESHMAN OF THE YEARDerik Queen, Maryland COACH OF THE YEARTom Izzo, Michigan StateFIRST TEAMVladislav Goldin, MichiganBrice Williams, NebraskaTrey Kaufman-Renn, PurdueBRADEN SMITH, PurdueJOHN TONJE, Wisconsin SECOND TEAMDerik Queen, MarylandDanny Wolf, MichiganDawson Garcia, MinnesotaNick Martinelli, NorthwesternBruce Thornton, Ohio State THIRD TEAMKasparas Jakucionis, IllinoisJa’Kobi Gillespie, MarylandJase Richardson, Michigan StateAce Bailey, RutgersDylan Harper, Rutgers HONORABLE MENTIONTomislav Ivisic, IllinoisMalik Reneau, IndianaOumar Ballo, IndianaPayton Sandfort, IowaJulian Reese, MarylandBrooks Barnhizer, NorthwesternNate Bittle, OregonJackson Shelstad, OregonYanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn StateAce Baldwin Jr., Penn StateFletcher Loyer, PurdueTyler Bilodeau, UCLADesmond Claude, USCGreat Osobor, WashingtonJohn Blackwell, WisconsinUnanimous selections in ALL CAPS*Additional honorees due to tiesThis article was originally published on www.si.com/college/wisconsin as John Tonje makes all-Big Ten first team for Wisconsin.

On Tuesday the Big Ten announced Tonje as a first-team all-conference pick. He is the first Badger to achieve that distinction since Johnny Davis in 2022 and the fourth first-team selection in Gard’s 10 seasons as head coach.

After being doubted as they were a season ago, the Badgers (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten) again earned postseason honors. Two UW standouts were selected as All-Big Ten honorees following the 2024-25 season.