2023-24 Men's College Basketball Freshman of the Year Rankings
With only a few days remaining in the 2023-24 men's college basketball regular season, the race for the Wayman Tisdale Award for national freshman of the year still feels remarkably wide open.
It legitimately could come down to which of the many deserving candidates has the most impressive final performance before voters submit their ballots*, considering four of those candidates are playing in massive games against possible No. 1 seeds in the form of North Carolina (Duke's Jared McCain), Arizona (USC's Isaiah Collier) and Tennessee (Kentucky's Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham).
In advance of that large final weekend, let's do one more ranking of the NFOY hopefuls.
These freshmen are ranked based on a combination of individual production and team success. However, the team-success portion of the equation isn't quite as important as it is when you're talking about the Wooden Award, where you almost have to play for a top-six seed in the NCAA tournament to even be one of the five finalists at the end of the year.
(However, the NFOY does typically come from a top-three seed in the Dance.)
One thing that doesn't factor into the rankings 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. That said, draft stock is a big reason Collier has been able to remain in the conversation, despite missing a month of action and despite playing for a sub-.500 Trojans squad.
*Ballots for the Wayman Tisdale Award are already open and are due by March 10, so the major conference tournaments will not be part of the consideration.
Nos. 11-6: Y. Missi, O. Freeman, J. Hubbard, I. Collier. D. Thomas Jr. and J. Walter
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11. Yves Missi, Baylor (Previous Rank: No. 7)
11.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.5 BPG
Having a top 11 isn't an aesthetically pleasing, round number, but having a guy averaging 11.1 points per game at No. 11 just feels right. Missi slips a few spots after getting completely shut down in the overtime loss to Houston, though he did play quite well in the subsequent wins over TCU and Kansas to remain in the hunt.
10. Owen Freeman, Iowa (Previous Rank: HM)
10.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.2 APG, 1.0 SPG
As Iowa attempts to storm its way back into the Dance, this freshman big man has been a rock in the paint. Freeman is averaging 11.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks over his last seven games. Another performance like that in the season finale against Illinois would be gigantic for the Hawkeyes.
9. Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State (Previous Rank: HM)
16.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 37.2% 3PT
Since our last ranking, Hubbard has exploded for 89 points in three games, shooting a combined 19-for-37 from three-point range. Yeah. That'll do. Mississippi State did lose two of those three games, but this first-year shooting guard is doing everything in his power to carry the Bulldogs across the finish line.
8. Isaiah Collier, USC (Previous Rank: HM)
17.0 PPG, 4.1 APG, 2.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 32.9% 3PT
We dropped Collier out of the top 10 when he suffered the broken hand in mid-January, saying we would revisit if and when he came back and started playing well again. Well, in seven games since returning, the surefire lottery pick has averaged 20.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals and just might mess around and carry USC to a Pac-12 tournament stunner. If he shines in an upset of Arizona on Saturday, there might still be a chance Collier wins this.
7. Dedan Thomas Jr., UNLV (Previous Rank: No. 8)
13.0 PPG, 5.4 APG, 2.9 RPG, 36.4% 3PT
Thomas was stellar in the recent win over Colorado State and hit the clutch buckets late in Tuesday night's victory over San Diego State. He's getting fewer assists than he was early in the year but making more buckets as it becomes clear that he is the offense's best hope. This 18-year-old point guard has been the driving force of UNLV's strong finish to stay on the fringe of the at-large conversation.
6. Ja'Kobe Walter, Baylor (Previous Rank: 6)
14.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 33.5% 3PT
Now that there's a little bit of separation between Walter and teammate Missi, it does become easier to argue that he belongs higher on this list. Since seeming to hit the proverbial freshman wall in late January, Walter has bounced back to score in double figures in eight consecutive games, including a mighty impressive 23 in the loss to Houston. Let's see if he has one more good game left up his sleeve on the road against Texas Tech this weekend. It could put Baylor in impeccable shape for a No. 2 seed.
5. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
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Season Stats: 14.8 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 43.4% 3PT
Previous Rank: No. 2
"In the zone" Rob Dillingham is as electric as it gets.
What "Dilly" did in the second half against LSU two weeks ago, what he did for that three-game stretch against Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt a little over a month ago and what he did during that few-minute inferno of the Champions Classic against Kansas were instant sensations.
How many times in the past four months do you think Dillingham has been named the KenPom MVP of a game, though?
If you guessed zero, congratulations. Incredibly, this mercurial star hasn't received that honor since the season opener against New Mexico State.
That's partially because he rarely plays more than 25 minutes in a game and partially because four of his most remarkable performances came in losing efforts. It's also largely because there's almost always someone having a more complete game than this freshman who occasionally gets hotter than the sun for 5-10 minutes.
That game MVP thing doesn't mean a whole lot, though. Just an interesting observation about his player page. Dillingham is still having a fantastic season and feels like one of just a handful of players (regardless of age) who could take over the NCAA tournament if he gets into a groove.
4. Myles Rice, Washington State
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Season Stats: 15.5 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 30.1% 3PT
Previous Rank: No. 4
It's a crying shame that Myles Rice's worst individual performance of the season happened to come during Washington State's best win of the year. He finished with just five points, three assists and four turnovers in Wazzu's road win over Arizona two weeks ago.
That's good news for the Cougars, who feel like more of a threat to go on a deep run in the NCAA tournament after they were able to pull that off while getting next to nothing from their freshman phenom. But it sure would have been easier to argue for him at No. 1 on this list if Rice had a gem in that one.
He did play quite well in the first win over Arizona, though. And he bounced back with a combined 34 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in the following weekend's home sweep of UCLA and USC that erased any possible lingering concerns about this team getting left out of the Dance.
In case you're new to the Freshman of the Year watch, it's worth re-noting that Rice's road to this point was an inspirational one.
After redshirting his first season in Pullman, he also had to take a medical redshirt in year No. 2 while battling Hodgkin lymphoma throughout the 2022-23 season. It was unclear over the summer if or how much he would be able to play in this his third-year-freshman campaign.
But he has been the starting point guard since day one, propelling Washington State to what will be its first NCAA tournament appearance in 16 years.
Are there better FOY options from a statistical and/or NBA potential point of view? Sure.
But there might not be a better story in basketball right now than Rice and the Cougars, and that is sure to get him quite a few votes.
3. PJ Haggerty, Tulsa
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Season Stats: 20.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.0 SPG
Previous Rank: No. 3
Playing well outside the national spotlight on a barely .500 Tulsa squad, PJ Haggerty just refuses to show any signs of slowing down.
You can see his season averages above, but he is actually at 24.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 4.2 APG over his last five games, doing everything he possibly can to get some national love.
Per usual, Haggerty is doing a ton of his damage from the free-throw line, where he is now well over 200 makes for the season, trailing only some foul-drawing machine named Zach Edey for the national lead in that department. Haggerty made 42 one-pointers during that five-game stretch and has made at least four free throws in all but three games this season.
He's much more than just a charity stripe case, though. He also plays solid defense along the perimeter and gets a surprising number of assists, given the lack of scoring weapons around him.
For what it's worth, the ballot for the USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award for national freshman of the year is an "up to three players" ballot. And while there will likely be a fair number of votes split between Kentucky's Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, it wouldn't be a surprise if Haggerty lands in the top three of the majority of the ballots for which three players are chosen. (At any rate, I've had him right here at No. 3 for a while now.)
There just might be a chance Haggerty wins this thing, even without getting many first-place votes.
2. Jared McCain, Duke
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Season Stats: 13.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, 40.6% 3PT
Previous Rank: No. 1
Where would the Blue Devils be without Jared McCain?
Jeremy Roach is the veteran leader. Kyle Filipowski is the NPOY candidate. Mark Mitchell is the X-factor. But McCain has been their rock as a freshman, playing solid defense, hitting the glass, leading the team in three-pointers and just generally contributing at a high level night in and night out.
The 35-point performance at Florida State a few weeks ago is largely what propelled him to No. 1, but don't mistake this slight drop to No. 2 as some sort of disappointment in his play as of late.
Just on Monday, he was massive in the second half as the Blue Devils pulled away from an upset-minded NC State team. He also had some huge buckets against Wake Forest, but it wasn't quite enough to prevent that controversial court storm from happening.
He's going to play a big role in Saturday's game against North Carolina, as he did in the first matchup (23 points, 11 rebounds). And if Duke is going to make any sort of prolonged run in the Dance, take it to the bank that McCain will be at the epicenter of it.
He only dropped a spot because a phenom from a different title hopeful of a blue blood had a recent performance for the ages that will be fresh in the minds of the voters for this award. But maybe McCain can follow suit with a career-best gem in a win over the Tar Heels to reclaim the top spot.
1. Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
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Season Stats: 12.4 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.2 RPG, 2.6 SPG, 51.7% 3PT
Previous Rank: No. 5
I've been all over the map with Reed Sheppard in these rankings. He was the clear-cut No. 1 early in the year before gradually slipping down to No. 5 as a result of his refusal to embrace his potential stardom.
If anyone in the country should be going "Full Trae Young" this season by averaging close to 30 points and 10 assists per game, it's Sheppard, who has the court vision and the jump shot to be used on at least twice as many possessions as he has been.
And last week's explosion against Mississippi State was a jaw-dropping reminder of how great this freshman can be.
With Kentucky trailing 56-45 midway through the second half, Sheppard completely took over. He either scored (23) or assisted on (eight) 31 of Kentucky's final 46 points, including hitting the game-winning floater just before time expired.
He finished that night with a career-high 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the type of Herculean performance that almost made up for all of the passive games where he defers to his teammates too much.
Sheppard did have a few unsuccessful attempts at putting the team on his back earlier in the year against UNC-Wilmington and Gonzaga. Prior to single-handedly orchestrating that comeback against Mississippi State, those were the only two games in which he was used on at least 25 percent of possessions while on the floor.
But in both cases, it was too little too late. He attempted 31 shots between those two games, 23 of which came in the second half with the Wildcats trying to rally from a deficit.
It sure would be fantastic if he could just start a game with that mentality instead of trying to become the "break in case of emergency" option. (Of course, that would require John Calipari to actually put his best player in the starting lineup for a change.)
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