Clemson star linebacker Sammy Brown continues to rack up preseason accolades.

The 2026 preseason Associated Press All-America team was announced Tuesday, and Brown is one of three linebackers on the second-team defense, along with Georgia’s Raylen Wilson and Notre Dame’s Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa.

A number of opposing players scheduled to face Clemson during the 2026 season made the preseason AP All-America team, including LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green (first team); Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney (first team); South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart (first team); Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (second team); LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton (second team); Florida State wide receiver Duce Robinson (second team); and LSU safety Ty Benefield (second team).

Meanwhile, the CBS Sports preseason All-America team was also released Tuesday, and Brown is a first-team honoree at linebacker.

LSU’s Green and South Carolina’s Stewart are also first-team selections on the CBS Sports preseason All-America team, while Miami’s Fletcher, LSU’s Seaton, LSU’s Benefield, Miami defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr., LSU linebacker Whit Weeks and South Carolina’s Vicari Swain (punt returner) are all second-team selections. Miami’s Toney is both a first-team selection (all-purpose) and a second-team selection (wide receiver).

In addition, Brown was recently named a second-team preseason All-American by The Athletic, and a first-team preseason All-American by USA Today.

“Brown (106 tackles) is the centerpiece of a Clemson defense that might be the best in the ACC,” USA Today’s Paul Myerberg wrote.

Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst, Joel Klatt, also named Brown a first-team preseason All-American, joining ESPN, which named Brown a first-team preseason All-American, too.

Brown has been named to multiple major national award preseason watch lists entering the 2026 college football season, including for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year), the Lombardi Award (nation’s top lineman or linebacker), the Butkus Award (nation’s top linebacker) and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

Beyond award watch lists, Brown has earned high-profile national recognition, such as being named the preseason ACC Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today and being ranked No. 20 overall nationally on The Athletic’s “Freaks List” for his elite athleticism.

A former five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and a high school Butkus Award winner, Brown earned freshman All-America honors in his debut season in 2024 while also being named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Brown continued to be a force on Clemson’s defense as a sophomore last season, when he racked up 106 tackles while posting 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. He was a third-team All-America selection by Phil Steele, as well as a first-team All-ACC honoree by the conference, the AP and Steele.

Brown enters the 2026 season credited with 194 tackles (25 for loss), 10 sacks, 11 pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over 27 games (19 starts) in his first two seasons. He is one of only 14 players nationally to post 10-plus tackles for loss and five or more sacks in each of the last two seasons, alongside fellow Clemson defender Will Heldt.

Brown and the Clemson Tigers open the 2026 season with the highly anticipated matchup against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m., ABC).