Way-Too-Early 2025-26 Men's College Basketball National Player of the Year Rankings
It feels super-early in the season to be talking about National Player of the Year for men's college basketball, but most teams have already played at least 25 percent of their games.
Save for one Andrew Bogut exception in 2005, the Wooden Award winner always comes from a team that ends up getting a No. 4 seed or better in the NCAA tournament. (Even Utah got a No. 6 seed that year.)
It's not just the NPOY winner, either. In each of the past two seasons, the consensus first-team All-Americans all played for teams that ended up among the top six overall seeds in the dance.
As such, team success is the biggest determining factor in this initial exercise, in which our top 16 is simply the best NPOY candidate from each of the teams that opened play on Tuesday ranked in the top 16 on KenPom.
Once that pool of 16 players was created, individual rankings were crafted independent of team rankings.
Admittedly, this approach omits quite a few deserving candidates, so we're including 16 honorable mentions in addition to our 16 ranked players. But in each of the past three seasons, all five consensus first-team All-Americans came from teams that were ranked top-16 on KenPom on the second Tuesday of December.
Statistics current through start of play on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
16 Honorable Mentions
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Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Ryan Conwell, Louisville
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
Richie Saunders, BYU
All four of these senior guards are putting up serious numbers as the veteran leader of a title contending team—that just so happens to also have an outrageously good freshman who looks like a lock to go top-10 in the 2026 NBA draft. But maybe these elder statesmen can steal some of that spotlight as far as NPOY talk goes.
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Two other hard-luck runners-up to a teammate who is a better candidate, TKR losing out to Braden Smith while Lipsey takes a back seat to Joshua Jefferson. Both could be in the mix, though.
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Easily the top two candidates from outside the KenPom top 16, these big men have been relentlessly stuffing the stat sheets for teams that aren't that far removed from fetching a No. 4 seed. Notably on both the individual and team front, Toppin will face Duke and Cameron Boozer on Dec. 20, while Wilson gets the same chance on both Feb. 7 and March 7. These stars would probably rank No. 5 and No. 6 if we hadn't imposed the "team must be top 16 on KenPom" rule.
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
An honorable mention who belongs in a tier of his own, Peterson missed seven games (hamstring) for a Kansas team that ranks just outside the top 16. If this potential No. 1 draft pick stays healthy the rest of the way while the Jayhawks reassert themselves atop the Big 12, though, there's still plenty of time for him to skyrocket back into this race.
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Tucker DeVries, Indiana
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Darrion Williams, NC State
Seven star players from teams who will likely be in the NCAA tournament. This is much more of a "viable candidates to become third-team All-Americans" tier than a "serious threats to win the Wooden Award" tier, but we're casting a wide net with more than three months yet to come.
Nos. 16-15: Solo Ball and Zuby Ejiofor
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16. Solo Ball, Connecticut (KenPom: 7)
Season Stats: 15.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 29.0% 3PT
For most of the top 16 squads, there's not much of a debate as to who is most likely to end the season as the MVP of the team.
With Connecticut, however, it could be any of Ball, Alex Karaban, Silas Demary Jr., Tarris Reed, Braylon Mullins or even Eric Reibe, who has gotten out to quite the Donovan Clingan-like start to his freshman year in the paint.
If I could just rank "Connecticut's TBD Best Player" instead of picking a specific player now, it would be a fringe candidate for top five, as the Huskies really ought to steamroll through the majority of their 20-game Big East slate. As is, let's roll with Ball at No. 16 for now and reassess later. He did just drop a team-high 19 on the reigning champs on Tuesday night, after all.
15. Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's (KenPom: 16)
Season Stats: 15.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.0 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 33.3% 3PT
Ejiofor has been great, leading the Johnnies in each of points, rebounds, blocks and assists, the latter of which is most noteworthy on a roster devoid of a true point guard.
St. John's, on the other hand, has not been great, already saddled with losses to Alabama, Auburn and Iowa State and pretty clearly the second-best team in what has pretty clearly been the fifth-best conference. Unless you're putting up senior-year Doug McDermott or Jimmer Fredette numbers, it's almost impossible to win the Wooden Award from that point.
Nos. 14-13: Thomas Haugh and Kylan Boswell
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14. Thomas Haugh, Florida (KenPom: 14)
Season Stats: 18.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 BPG, 34.7% 3PT
Haugh's all-around play thus far has been pretty great, blossoming from sixth-man extraordinaire of last year's title run into the early star of this year's version of the Gators. He went for 24 points against Duke and 27 against Arizona.
Florida lost both of those games, though. It also lost when Haugh scored 20 against TCU. And the Gators fell to 5-4 with a loss to Connecticut on Tuesday.
It's officially questionable at best whether the team will be good enough for his individual play to carry weight in the NPOY discussion.
13. Kylan Boswell, Illinois (KenPom: 11)
Season Stats: 15.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 30.4% 3PT
Throughout his first three seasons, Boswell was much more of a supplementary piece than the main attraction. He left his role as "the other guard" in Caleb Love's backcourt at Arizona and became "the other guard" in Kasparas Jakucionis' backcourt at Illinois last season.
Now, though, it's his show if and when he wants it.
Boswell went for 22 points against Texas Tech, 22 with seven assists against Alabama and 25 against Connecticut. And at least until Mihailo Petrovic gets up to speed, Boswell will continue to get as many minutes as the lead guard as he can handle.
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Nos. 12-11: Duke Miles and Graham Ike
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12. Duke Miles, Vanderbilt (KenPom: 8)
Season Stats: 17.8 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.0 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 42.9% 3PT
Vanderbilt is still only ranked 15th in the latest AP poll, suggesting there are a lot of people who still aren't smelling what the 'Dores are cooking.
Pretty soon, though, there's going to be a reckoning; a national conversation about the possibility Vanderbilt might legitimately be good, might be the best team in the SEC and might earn a No. 2 (or even a No. 1) seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
And if that day comes, it's really just a question of whether Miles or Tyler Tanner (16.2 PPG, 4.3 APG, 2.6 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 50% 3PT) is the Commodore who gets lauded as the hero of a team that matters for the first time in 15 years.
11. Graham Ike, Gonzaga (KenPom: 3)
Season Stats: 16.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 35.3% 3PT
It would be absurdly harsh to eliminate someone from the NPOY conversation because of one poor performance in November. But if ever it were to happen, Ike going 0-for-9 from the field with no rebounds in that 40-point loss to Michigan would be a case to consider.
Ike bounced back in a big way, though, with 28 points and 10 rebounds in the subsequent rout of Kentucky. He also had 21 and 11 against Alabama, 19 and 11 against Oklahoma, 20 and 10 against Creighton and 20 and nine against Arizona State.
One bad night does not a season make, and Ike could continue building his case with a few more dominant outings against UCLA and Oregon in the next two weeks.
Nos. 10-9: Kingston Flemings and Koa Peat
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10. Kingston Flemings, Houston (KenPom: 10)
Season Stats: 15.9 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.6 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 56.0% 3PT
With Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and JoJo Tugler all returning for a Houston team that almost won it all last season, it's wild to think its best NPOY candidate is a freshman.
Flemings has been phenomenal, though, leading the team in assists and steals while also shooting better than 60 percent from the field.
He entered Wednesday's game against Jackson State having scored at least 18 points in six of his last eight games. And even in the games against Syracuse and Notre Dame in which he couldn't find his shot, he still impacted the game with a combined 11 assists, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Buckle up for Houston-Arkansas on Dec. 20. Flemings vs. Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas could be a show-stopper.
9. Koa Peat, Arizona (KenPom: 5)
Season Stats: 15.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG
Though Peat hasn't scored more than 18 points in a game since exploding for 30 on opening night against Florida, there's something to be said for making that type of introductory statement.
And though he did struggle in the win over UCLA (seven points, six turnovers), Peat was the star of the show against both UConn (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Auburn (18 points, five assists, two steals, no turnovers).
Honestly, we're probably underselling him at No. 9. If he goes off again this weekend against Alabama—which he probably will, considering that Crimson Tide frontcourt has allowed 22.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG and 3.7 APG to Graham Ike, Zuby Ejiofor and Trey Kaufman-Renn—Peat will have a strong case for top four.
Nos. 8-7: Joshua Jefferson and Jeremy Fears
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8. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State (KenPom: 2)
Season Stats: 17.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 35.0% 3PT
While Jefferson has not yet recorded a triple-double in his career, Iowa State's veteran power forward has scored at least 11 points in each game this season, twice got to 10 rebounds and twice got to 10 assists. He just has to put it all together on one night.
He also needs to clear the inherent "plays for Iowa State" hurdle.
Jefferson is No. 2 in the KenPom Player of the Year standings, but Cyclones stars always seem to get overlooked in the national discourse, only once in the past 25 seasons producing a consensus All-American, when Georges Niang made three second teams and a third team in 2016.
Then again, Iowa State hasn't ever been this good before. And if the Cyclones win a Big 12 that could have as many as six teams among the top 16 overall seeds, it would become impossible to not talk about them and their brightest star on a constant basis.
7. Jeremy Fears, Michigan State (KenPom: 12)
Season Stats: 11.6 PPG, 9.8 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 38.1% 3PT
If it feels like you've seen this stat line before, perhaps that's because it's almost a carbon copy of what Ryan Nembhard did at Gonzaga last season, ending the year at 10.5 PPG, 9.8 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.7 SPG and 40.4% 3PT.
But whereas Nembhard didn't even sniff third-team All-America in light of Gonzaga landing a No. 8 seed in the dance, Fears is flirting with averaging a points-assists double-double for a Spartans team that could flirt with a No. 1 seed.
It's a shame he couldn't get anything to fall in Saturday's loss to Duke, shooting 0-for-10 from the field. Had he led Michigan State to a win in that one, he'd probably be at No. 2 on this list.
Nos. 6-5: Labaron Philon Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr.
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6. Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama (KenPom: 13)
Season Stats: 21.4 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 40.4% 3P%
No Mark Sears and no Grant Nelson?
When you've got Philon, no problem.
Alabama's sophomore point guard has been sensational through the first five weeks of action, going for 29, 25 and 24 points, respectively, in the wins over Clemson, St. John's and Illinois, as well as averaging 20 points, 7.0 assists and 2.5 steals (albeit with a combined 10 turnovers) in the losses to a pair of excellent teams in Purdue and Gonzaga.
If he keeps it going in a win over Arizona on Saturday, things get mighty interesting in a hurry for the star who is thriving despite facing six KenPom top 25 foes in his first 10 games.
5. Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville (KenPom: 15)
Season Stats: 16.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.2 RPG, 25.8% 3PT
As talented as Brown is, could he shoot himself right out of this conversation?
That dunk last week against Arkansas was something else, but it came on a night when Louisville lost and he missed 11 three-point attempts. Moreover, in five games thus far this season against KenPom top 200 competition, he is just 8-for-41 from distance.
If that worm turns, though, and Brown starts converting on that permanent green light at anything close to a 40 percent clip, look out. He's racking up both points and dimes while struggling to find his stroke, but he could start putting up Trae Young numbers on a Final Four-caliber team if those shots start falling.
Nos. 4-3: Yaxel Lendeborg and AJ Dybantsa
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4. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan (KenPom: 1)
Season Stats: 15.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 36.4% 3PT
Over the previous two seasons at UAB, Lendeborg was the primary frontcourt presence. Yes, he did some perimeter shooting, but we're talking 11.0 rebounds and 9.1 two-point attempts per game from a guy who was playing center.
However, the NBA didn't want him to be a 6'9" center. It wanted him to be more of a 3-and-D wing. So he came back to college and transferred to Michigan to showcase that skill set.
After a whole two underwhelming games in a new role with a new team, he made that adjustment and has become the No. 1 player out of the transfer portal that we all expected him to be.
The longer Michigan stays undefeated, the more realistic Lendeborg's NPOY case becomes.
3. AJ Dybantsa, BYU (KenPom: 9)
Season Stats: 20.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.0 APG, 36.4% 3PT
One thing is for certain when it comes to Dybantsa and the Wooden Award: He won't be lacking for national attention.
The potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft has thus far delivered the goods. Even in BYU's lone loss to Connecticut, he put on a show in the second half, darn near willing the Cougars to a 19-point comeback. And then he did steer them to a ridiculous 22-point comeback on Tuesday night against Clemson, relentlessly taking over in the second half.
As advertised long before his arrival in Provo, Dybantsa has been a walking bucket, scoring at least 16 points in each game, even without being much of a perimeter threat. (His percentage is solid, but he has made just eight threes through nine games.)
And don't sleep on the "Wow, he helped put BYU on the map" factor here.
The only other time in the past 35 years that the Cougars earned a No. 5 seed or better in the NCAA tournament, Jimmer Fredette won the Wooden Award in 2011. If Dybantsa leads BYU to a top-two seed for the first time ever—in addition to the non-stop attention from NBA scouts—don't forget that at the end of the day, the NPOY race is a popularity contest.
Nos. 2-1: Braden Smith and Cameron Boozer
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2. Braden Smith, Purdue (KenPom: 6)
Season Stats: 13.1 PPG, 8.8 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 41.5% 3PT
Smith entered the season as the consensus favorite to win the Wooden Award, and he has not disappointed in the slightest.
He's almost leading the nation in assists per game, well on his way to breaking Bobby Hurley's NCAA record for assists in a career. In fact, there has only been one game thus far in which he didn't have at least seven assists, and that's only because he couldn't register assists on the 29 points that he scored in the marquee road win over Alabama. (He had seven rebounds and four dimes in that one.)
Still, Smith is a distant No. 2 in the early NPOY rankings because another Duke freshman has taken the world by storm.
Should the Boilermakers emerge as the clear team to beat in a loaded Big Ten, though, things quickly could swing back in favor of this senior point guard who was a first-team All-American just one year ago.
1. Cameron Boozer, Duke (KenPom: 4)
Season Stats: 23.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 37.2% 3PT
For as great as Cooper Flagg was, there's really no question Boozer has been better faster than the Duke freshman who won all of the National Player of the Year honors one season ago.
At this point last season, there were questions of whether Flagg could be the guy who leads Duke to the Final Four, because he made some freshman mistakes in the November losses to Kentucky and Kansas.
With Boozer, though, it's more a question of whether he can single-handedly carry a team that is still figuring out who else it can turn to in a pinch.
Boozer scored almost half of Duke's points in that 67-66 win over reigning national champion Florida. When Arkansas stubbornly refused to double-team him on Thanksgiving, he feasted to the tune of 35 points and nine rebounds. And after a rough first half at the Breslin Center, he either scored or assisted on 22 of Duke's 35 second-half points in that come-from-behind victory over Michigan State, while also finishing with 15 rebounds.
If he dominates JT Toppin when Duke faces Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20, this race might just about be over, barring injury.
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