Duke star Cameron Boozer has led the Wooden Award race pretty much from start to finish, and it’s clear now that nobody is going to catch him.
Nonetheless, making these rankings is a worthwhile exercise, as they provide a snapshot of the 2025-26 campaign and shed light on the absurd amount of talent in college basketball today. This season has been defined by a historic freshman class and the dominance of upperclassmen who, in the pre-NIL era, probably would have moved on to the NBA already.
As conference tournaments get underway and we inch closer to the Big Dance, here’s a look at the top 10 contenders for NPOY. Note: Texas Tech’s JT Toppin and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson would both be on this list but they’ve been sidelined for extended periods due to injuries. Toppin has already been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL.
1. Cameron Boozer, 6-foot-9 freshman forward, Duke
Last installment: No. 1
22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 57.5 FG%, 38.8 3FG%
Boozer has sat atop this list from the very first installment in mid-December. Still, it feels as though the freshman isn’t getting enough attention for what he’s done this season. At 18 years old, Boozer has been by far the most consistently dominant force in college basketball. He has registered at least 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 30 of Duke’s games, the longest such streak by any Division I player this century, per OptaSTATS. His KenPom Player of the Year rating (3.251) is the highest ever recorded on the database, which began keeping the metric in 2011.
“He’s going to win (NPOY),” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas told The Hoops HQ Show earlier this week. “His high-level consistency is hard to wrap your head around… He does it every game and he plays with a maturity and a level of productivity that you just don’t see very often.”
2. Darius Acuff Jr., 6-foot-3 freshman guard, Arkansas
Last installment: No. 9
22.2 points, 6.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 49.3 FG%, 43.7 3FG%
Acuff was named USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Month for February after averaging a staggering 27.3 points, 6.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from three. He has shot up these rankings and draft boards as a result. The projected top-10 pick is the only player in Division I averaging 20-plus points and six-plus assists. He’s also on pace to become just the second player ever to lead the SEC in scoring and assists, joining Pete Maravich in 1969-70.
After Acuff put up 28 points and 13 assists in a 105-85 victory over Texas on Wednesday, Longhorns coach Sean Miller raved about the freshman. “In my time — 34 years — I’ve never seen a point guard better,” Miller said. “Guys like him don’t come into college basketball very often. He’s a generational player. This No. 1 pick thing, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anybody better.”
3. AJ Dybantsa, 6-foot-8 freshman wing, BYU
Last installment: No. 2
24.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 53.6 FG%, 35.9 3FG%
BYU has plummeted in the Big 12 standings, losing eight of its last 11 games, but Dybantsa has continued to shine. The 19-year-old wing, who’s projected to be the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, is on track to become just the third freshman ever to lead the nation in scoring. Over his last 19 outings, Dybantsa has averaged 27.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. He broke the program’s freshman single-game scoring record with 43 points against Utah on Jan. 24, and recorded the only triple-double by a freshman in school history with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington on Dec. 22.
4. Joshua Jefferson, 6-foot-9 senior forward, Iowa State
Last installment: No. 3
16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 45.8 FG%, 34.8 3FG%
Jefferson might be the most underrated star in the country. A versatile, two-way forward, he is the centerpiece of an Iowa State team with national championship aspirations. Dating back to 1974-75, only six other players in Division I history (none in the Big 12) have posted a stat line like the one Jefferson currently owns. The 22-year-old is also just the third player in Big 12 history to record multiple triple-doubles in a season, and the first to do so in a pair of conference games. Even when his shot isn’t falling, Jefferson finds ways to impact winning. He ranks first nationally in assists among high-major big men.
5. Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-foot-9 senior forward, Michigan
Last installment: No. 8
14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals, 50.2 FG%
Lendeborg’s numbers might not jump off the page, but he has been the most important player on arguably the best team in the nation. A do-it-all forward who transferred from UAB (and was rated as the No. 1 player in the 2025 portal by Hoops HQ), Lendeborg leads the Wolverines in scoring and steals, and ranks second in rebounding and assists.
“We competed against Yax (in the past). We’re friends with those guys at UAB with Coach Kennedy, so we knew that you could put him all over the court and use him as a wing or a big,” Michigan coach Dusty May told The Hoops HQ Show in February. “Yax is a connector and a superstar who’s incredibly unselfish.”
6. Keaton Wagler, 6-foot-6 freshman guard, Illinois
Last installment: No. 6
18.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 46.4 FG%, 43.2 3FG%
If Jefferson is the most underrated star in the country, Wagler is the most surprising. The freshman was hardly recruited by high-major schools coming out of Shawnee Mission Northwest in Kansas; now he is a legitimate NPOY and First Team All-American candidate projected to be the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, per Hoops HQ’s latest mock.
Wagler is the top scorer on an Illini team that owns the highest offensive rating (131.8) in the KenPom era (since 1996-97). He has totaled 543 points this season, shattering the program’s freshman scoring record of 494 points, which was set by Cory Bradford in 1998-99 and equaled by Kasparas Jakucionis last year.
7. Jeremy Fears Jr., 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, Michigan State
Last installment: N/A
15.3 points, 9.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 44.6 FG%
Over his last 10 outings, Fears has averaged 19.1 points and 9.5 assists against just 2.1 turnovers. He has posted four double-doubles and scored at least 20 points five times. In a memorable 85-82 overtime victory over Wagler and the Illini on Feb. 7, Fears put up 26 points and 15 dimes. The sophomore currently leads the country in assists and ranks 13th in free throw percentage (90.6 percent).
Just how vital has Fears been to the Spartans’ success this season? The 20-year-old has scored or assisted on a whopping 58.6 percent of MSU’s points when he’s on the floor, per CBBAnalytics.
8. Kingston Flemings, 6-foot-4 freshman guard, Houston
Last installment: No. 5
16.6 points, 5.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 48.7 FG%, 37.8 3FG%
With 16 points against Kansas on Feb. 23, Flemings broke Houston’s single-season freshman scoring record. He also has a chance to set the program’s freshman assist record of 181 presently held by Derrick Daniels (1988-89). A lightning quick guard with elite handles, Flemings leads the No. 7-ranked Cougars in scoring, assists and steals. He posted 21 points, 7 assists and 2 steals in a 77-64 victory over Baylor on Wednesday. “Kingston reminds me of Russell Westbrook,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said afterward. “His acceleration and speed down the court is real, and it’s fun to watch when you’re not competing against him.”
9. Labaron Philon Jr., 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, Alabama
Last installment: N/A
21.5 points, 4.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 50.7 FG%, 39.4 3FG%
Despite losing program stalwart Mark Sears, Alabama’s offense hasn’t missed a beat (No. 3 on KenPom), thanks in large part to Philon’s improvement. The sophomore has increased both his scoring average (10.6 to 21.5 points) and his efficiency (45.2 to 50.7 percent) dramatically. He ranks second in the SEC in scoring (behind Acuff) and fourth in assists. In a double-overtime thriller against Acuff and the Razorbacks on Feb. 18, Philon erupted for 35 points and 7 assists (against just 2 turnovers) to help the Tide grab a critical 117-115 win. Ten days later, he hit the game-winning jumper in a 71-69 victory over Tennessee in Knoxville.
10. Brayden Burries, 6-foot-4 freshman guard, Arizona
Last installment: N/A
15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 49.4 FG%, 36.9 3FG%
The No. 2-ranked Wildcats have a balanced attack, but Burries has been their most reliable offensive weapon, especially during league play. In February, the 19-year-old averaged 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 39.3 percent from behind the arc. Against fellow freshman Darryn Peterson and the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, Burries notched 20 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Arizona to an 84-61 win. That came just four days after he dropped 24 points, including the dagger jumper, in an 87-80 comeback victory over Baylor.
Honorable Mentions
6-foot-3 senior guard Jaden Bradley (Arizona), 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), 6-foot senior guard Braden Smith (Purdue), 6-foot-9 senior forward Graham Ike (Gonzaga), 6-foot-4 senior guard Bennett Stirtz (Iowa), 6-foot-10 junior center Rueben Chinyelu (Florida), 6-foot-7 junior forward Pryce Sandfort (Nebraska)
Meet your guide
