2023-24 Men's College Basketball Freshman of the Year Rankings
While Purdue's Zach Edey continues to run away with all of the projected National Player of the Year hardware, the race for National Freshman of the Year has never been more wide open.
Kentucky's Reed Sheppard has fallen back to the pack over the course of the past month, but there hasn't been any real cream rising to the top to replace him as the favorite—in part because USC's Isaiah Collier suffered an injury two weeks ago and won't be back for at least another two weeks.
Still, we managed to put together a top 10 with 10 honorable mentions.
Just know that every one of these 20 players realistically could win it.
These freshmen are ranked based on a combination of individual production and team success. But unlike with National Player of the Year rankings where it takes a considerable amount of team success to be legitimately considered, it's much more of a perk than a prerequisite here. Team success can provide a rankings boost to players from Baylor and Kentucky without penalizing freshmen thriving for the likes of Georgia Tech, UNLV and Tulsa.
One thing that doesn't factor into the rankings, though, is NBA draft stock. It might be mentioned where applicable, but by no means should this be viewed as some kind of draft big board of top freshmen.
Statistics current through the start of play Wednesday.
George Washington's Honorable Mentions
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Before we dive into the top 20, a shoutout to George Washington, which is playing its best basketball in nearly a decade while relying heavily on freshmen.
There are only about a dozen freshmen in the entire country averaging at least 14 points per game, but the Colonials have two of them in Darren Buchanan Jr. (15.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.2 SPG) and Garrett Johnson (14.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 44.6% 3PT).
Fellow freshmen Trey Autry and Jacoi Hutchinson are also playing key roles off the bench, entering Wednesday's game against Richmond averaging a combined 41 minutes, 10.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.
All told, those four freshmen have accounted for just under 50 percent of the scoring for a 14-4 team with its highest per-game scoring average (81.8) since averaging 82.3 points per game back in 1975-76.
Barring an undefeated run through the rest of the regular season, there's no real case for George Washington getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. But barring an absolute meltdown the rest of the way, the Colonials—with four freshmen among their six leading scorers—are at least going to post a winning record for the first time since 2016-17.
Consider both Buchanan and Johnson as honorable mentions who we'll continue to monitor down the stretch.
10 Honorable Mentions
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Markus Burton, Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish's offense is abysmal with only one player averaging at least 10 points or even 1.0 assists per game. But that one player is Burton (16.3 PPG, 3.9 APG), who deserves some recognition for doing everything he can to carry a team that would otherwise be averaging maybe 40 points per night.
Isaiah Collier, USC: Collier was No. 3 in our previous top 10, which published about 12 hours before the news that he would miss 4-6 weeks with a hand injury. Like Kyrie Irving many moons ago, Collier might still go No. 1 overall in the draft despite missing a big chunk of the season. But at least until he's back on the floor, no need to reserve a top-10 spot for him.
Owen Freeman, Iowa: The Hawkeyes just keep churning out quality big men, and this one had double-doubles earlier this month against both Wisconsin and Nebraska. Freeman did get hopelessly out-classed by Zach Edey in last weekend's loss to Purdue, but hey, it happens.
Naithan George, Georgia Tech: One Yellow Jacket ranks in our top five, and this one almost cracked the top 10. In the four games prior to facing Pitt Tuesday night, George averaged 15.3 points and 7.8 assists with just 2.0 turnovers. If he keeps playing at even remotely that level for another few weeks, he's going to crash the party in a big way.
Braden Huff, Gonzaga: Huff is still coming off the bench and only averaging about 15 minutes per game, but that didn't stop him from putting up a career-best 26 points in Saturday's demolition of San Diego.
Malik Mack, Harvard: Mack missed a few games around the transition from 2023 to 2024 and was a non-factor in Harvard's blowout loss to Princeton. Still, he's averaging nearly 19 points and better than four assists and four rebounds per game. Impressive stuff from the lead guard of the lowest-rated team represented anywhere in this top 20.
Jared McCain, Duke: A starter from Day One in Durham, McCain is averaging 15.6 points and shooting just under 42 percent from distance over his last 10 games. Aside from Kyle Filipowski, he has been the most consistently available and consistently productive Blue Devil. He just barely misses the cut as our unofficial No. 11 player, and could make a serious push for No. 1 with a gem at UNC next Saturday.
Yves Missi, Baylor: Missi was great in nonconference play, averaging 10.7 points and 2.1 blocks per game. But at 6.6 and 0.4, respectively, in Big 12 play, he hasn't been anywhere near the same lately. His free-throw shooting (48.5 percent for the year) has also become a major issue.
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon: Shelstad catapulted into our rankings at No. 5 two weeks ago, but things have gone downhill. In chronological order, his point totals in Oregon's seven Pac-12 games go 21, 20, 17, 14, 12, nine and six. He also has a minus-2 assist-to-turnover ratio over his last three games. Still on our radar for sure, but no longer top 10.
D.J. Wagner, Kentucky: Wagner has scored at least 14 points in six of his past nine games, including an 18-point, 10-assist gem against Georgia this past weekend. Wouldn't be difficult to make the case for him belonging on the list. However, teammates Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are already in the top five. He definitely gets an honorable mention, but Kentucky can't be 30 percent of our top 10, right?
Nos. 10-6: Dedan Thomas Jr., Cody Williams, JT Toppin, Myles Rice, Milan Momcilovic
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10. Dedan Thomas Jr., UNLV (Previous Rank: 10)
11.6 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.1 RPG, 35.4% 3PT
UNLV has been a certified problem in the Mountain West's quest for six bids, already upsetting both Boise State and New Mexico and falling just one bucket shy of knocking off both Colorado State and Utah State.
The star of that spoiler has been Thomas, who is top-15 in the nation in assists per game for the year and averaging 3.6 assists per turnover over his last five games. He finally got his first double-double (10 points, 11 assists, 1 turnover) in the narrow loss to Utah State, and it'll only be a matter of time before he gets a few more.
9. Cody Williams, Colorado (Previous Rank: HM)
15.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 50.0% 3PT
Williams dropped out of our rankings while missing seven games with a wrist injury, but he picked up pretty much right where he left off, scoring at least 13 points in all four games since his return.
Factor in the defense and he has actually been better than before, blocking six shots in those four games compared to just two blocks in the seven games prior to injury. And it was on the defensive end that we expected the 6'8" wing who can guard any position to set himself apart from the crowd this season. Nice to see him doing just that as Colorado tries to play its way back into at-large position.
8. JT Toppin, New Mexico (Previous Rank: HM)
13.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.2 SPG
Toppin just barely missed the top 10 two weeks ago, and allow us to apologize to New Mexico's recent opponents for giving him that added motivation. He absolutely destroyed San Diego State for 17 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks and two steals in that marquee Lobos victory, and he later went for 25 points and 13 rebounds in a road win over Air Force.
Toppin now has six double-doubles and has been quite the anchor in the paint for a New Mexico team whose guard play (Donovan Dent, Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr.) often steals the show. If Toppin continues to thrive, UNM will be a very dangerous team if and when it makes the NCAA tournament.
7. Myles Rice, Washington State (Previous Rank: HM)
15.8 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 35.1% 3PT
After redshirting the past two seasons while recovering from Hodgkin lymphoma, Rice has been some kind of awesome for the Cougars, especially in recent weeks. But he might be the most underappreciated freshman in the country, overshadowed in his own conference by the likes of Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams.
Rice had some impressive showings early in the year against Eastern Washington, Portland State and Grambling, but he has averaged 20.6 points, 5.6 assists and 1.8 steals over his last five games in Pac-12 play. That includes an absurd 35-8-4 line in the recent road win over Washington State.
6. Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State (Previously Rank: 9)
12.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 39.1% 3PT
Momcilovic has been Mr. Consistent for the Cyclones, scoring between 10 and 18 points with at least one made three-pointer in 15 of 18 games. And he was Mr. Clutch late in their marquee win over Houston, scoring the team's final four points of that 57-53 victory.
It's a little surprising they don't lean on Momcilovic even more than they do, considering the 6'8" forward has an unguardable fadeaway. But with Hason Ward back in the mix after missing more than a month with a foot injury, Iowa State has a well-balanced primary seven-man rotation. No need to force-feed the star freshman.
5. PJ Haggerty, Tulsa
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Season Stats: 19.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.1 SPG
Previous Rank: 7
Tulsa is pretty irrelevant at a national level this season, playing in the AAC and rated well outside the top 150 on KenPom. This will likely keep PJ Haggerty from ever seriously making a push for the Wayman Tisdale Award for nation's best freshman.
But the highest-scoring freshman in the nation is putting up some absurd numbers.
Dating back to 1992, there have only been two freshmen who finished a season averaging at least 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals per game. They were Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey in 2005-06 and Ohio State's Michael Redd in 1997-98—both of whom went on to spend at least a decade in the NBA.
And through 18 games, Haggerty is on pace—assuming Tulsa gets immediately eliminated from the AAC tournament and has no other postseason games—for 229 made free throws and 70 steals.
Even if we give him a little wiggle room and call it 225 and 65, that has only been done eight times since 1992, and never by a freshman or sophomore. And if Tulsa gets a couple of postseason games and he ends up at 240 free throws and 75 steals, he would join Kemba Walker (258 and 77, respectively, in 41 games) in what is currently a one-man club.
Haggerty had 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in Tulsa's close call against Memphis earlier this month.
Please make sure to watch him against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 3. Already this season, the Owls defense was hopelessly unable to slow down UTSA's Jordan Ivy-Curry (38 points), Texas A&M's Wade Taylor IV (35 points) and Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. (33 points). Haggerty might mess around and score 45 in that one.
4. Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech
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Season Stats: 13.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 1.0 SPG
Previous Rank: 6
That whole "the team isn't nationally relevant enough to produce a Freshman of the Year" note about PJ Haggerty at Tulsa?
It kind of applies to Georgia Tech's Baye Ndongo, too.
The Yellow Jackets aren't as poorly rated as the Golden Hurricane, and they do at least play in a major conference. But when they inevitably finish the season a few games below .500—they're currently 9-10 overall—it's going to be next to impossible to argue that they had the best freshman in the country.
They really might, though, because Ndongo has been a big man on a mission, averaging 15.4 points and 9.4 rebounds over his last 11 games.
He had 21 points and four blocks in Georgia Tech's eyebrow-raising win over Duke in early December. He again caused problems for the Blue Devils less than two weeks ago, scoring 16 in that close call at Cameron Indoor.
The big key with Ndongo is foul trouble. He has fouled out three times in his last nine games, and was whistled for four fouls in three of the others. Even so, he scored in double figures in all of those games. And when he's playing freely and not living in fear of the next infraction, he is a tour de force; a menace on both ends of the floor.
He already shined twice against Duke. Let's see what he can do in Tuesday's showdown with Armando Bacot and North Carolina.
3. Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
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Season Stats: 11.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.1 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 54.8% 3PT
Previous Rank: 1
One month ago, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Reed Sheppard was going to be named National Freshman of the Year. Not only was he the clear choice for No. 1 in our freshman rankings, but he was top 10 in our National Player of the Year rankings and the only freshman legitimately considered for that list.
At the time, he was averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game, shooting 57.8 percent from three-point range. The only viable complaint about his play through those first 11 games was that he was a little too unselfish and should've been calling his own number more often.
Since then, however, all of those per-game numbers are down by about 30 percent to 9.3, 3.1, 3.6 and 1.7, respectively.
He's still shooting 50 percent from three-point range over his last seven games, though. He has just become even more unselfish, seemingly reluctant to drive and content to only take one three-point attempt for every six-plus minutes spent on the floor.
Sheppard's efficiency remains unmatched. He is leading the nation in true-shooting percentage, averages nearly three assists per turnover and has generated 17 more steals than he has giveaways. And save for Tuesday's loss at South Carolina, it's not like Kentucky's offense is struggling in the slightest.
But it's the lack of volume on his stats that has opened the door for not only Rob Dillingham to take the reins as Kentucky's most valuable freshman, but also for a non-Wildcat to become the new favorite for NFOY.
2. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
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Season Stats: 13.9 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 38.2% 3PT
Previous Rank: 4
Rob Dillingham is lightning in a bottle, scoring at least a dozen points in 15 of 18 games, coming off the bench in all but one of them.
In the incredible overtime game against Texas A&M two weekends ago, he had just four points in the first 35 minutes, before exploding for three-pointers on three consecutive possessions late in regulation.
In the subsequent game against Mississippi State, he scored 10 of his 16 points in the span of less than five minutes midway through the first half.
Even in Tuesday's ugly loss at South Carolina, he was basically Kentucky's entire offense in the first half.
And, of course, who can forget Dillingham's four straight triples in the Champions Classic against Kansas?
The problem that keeps Dillingham from the No. 1 spot is that sometimes the lightning never makes its way out of the bottle, resulting in an absolute dud roughly once a month.
Everyone on this list has the occasional night off. After all, these are freshmen we're talking about. But there's a fine line between "not on your A game" and "my friend, did you forget to put in your contact lenses or something?" And Dillingham's nights off fall into the latter category.
In the three games in which Dillingham didn't score at least a dozen, he had a combined total of 10 points on 22 field-goal attempts with 11 turnovers, nine fouls and six assists.
He has been great in 83 percent of Kentucky's games, though. That might be enough if Baylor's star falters down the stretch.
1. Ja'Kobe Walter, Baylor
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Season Stats: 15.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 36.9% 3PT
Previous Rank: 2
Ja'Kobe Walter's efficiency has taken a hit in the grind that is Big 12 conference play.
But, to be clear, he isn't struggling.
He has simply gone from "elite" to "still pretty doggone good."
Through five league games, Walter is averaging 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, notably playing a bigger role on the glass than he did in the first two months, perhaps in part to make up for the three-pointers only falling at a 25 percent clip.
He did have a tough time in the loss at Kansas State—both with his shot and with fouls—but he had 14 points in the win over Cincinnati, 16 in the win over BYU and 22 in the last-second loss at Texas.
Walter remains the top scorer for Baylor's proficient offense, putting up numbers well on par with what Keyonte George (15.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 33.8% 3PT) gave the Bears as a freshman one year ago.
His predecessor was more of a volume scorer, though, needing 12.5 field-goal attempts per game to do what Walter can manage in 11.2. And where George just barely missed out on the lottery as the No. 16 pick in last year's draft, Walter looks like a sure thing to go in the top 10 in a few months' time.
With teammate Yves Missi fading in recent weeks, it's a two-horse race between Walter and Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic for Big 12 Freshman of the Year. (At least for now. If Kansas' Johnny Furphy keeps playing like he has for the past few games, that could change.) And it just might be a two-horse race between Walter and [choose your favorite Kentucky Wildcat] for National Freshman of the Year.
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