Cooper Flagg Headlines 2025 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Semifinalists

Duke standout Cooper Flagg headlines the semifinalists for the 2025 men's Naismith College Player of the Year award.

The super freshman is one of 10 candidates still vying for the award, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Friday.

Here is the full list of semifinalists:

Cooper Flagg, G/F, Duke

Johni Broome, F/C, Auburn

Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida

Kam Jones, G, Marquette

Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton

RJ Luis Jr., G/F, St. John's

Mark Sears, G, Alabama

Braden Smith, G, Purdue

John Tonje, G, Wisconsin

JT Toppin, F, Texas Tech

Flagg has been viewed as the favorite to win the award for some time, but an ankle injury that he suffered in Duke's 78-70 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals on Thursday could open the door for one of the other candidates to move ahead depending on how much time he misses.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer told reporters after the game Flagg suffered a sprained ankle and his X-rays came back negative, but couldn't offer a timetable for his return other than to call him a "real long shot" for Friday's game against UNC.

Flagg has more than lived up to the hype he had entering this season. The presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in 32 starts.

Duke has won 25 of its last 26 games after a modest 4-2 start to the season. The Blue Devils entered conference tournament week ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. It's their first time reaching the top spot in the AP poll since November 2021.

The top contender for the award after Flagg is likely Auburn's Johni Broome. He has been the main driving force behind the Tigers' eight-week run atop the AP Top 25 poll before an overtime loss to Alabama in the regular-season finale on March 8 dropped them down to No. 3 this week.

Broome is the only SEC player this season averaging a double-double with 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference with 2.4 blocks per contest.

The Tigers are just three wins away from tying the school record for most in a single season (30 in 2018-19).

There will be one more update for the 2025 men's Naismith Player of the Year award list on March 25 when the four finalists are announced. The winner will be announced on April 6, one day before the national championship game.