Darryn Peterson Headlines 2026 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Late-Season Team

Duke's Cameron Boozer, BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Kansas' Darryn Peterson headline a freshman-heavy group of stars for the late-season Men's College Player of the Year candidates.

Boozer arguably leads the field with less than a month remaining in the regular season.

The 6'9" forward is leading the ACC in points (22.8) and rebounds (10.0), and he's a big reason why the Blue Devils are first in the conference at 13-1. Boozer is fresh off recording his 14th double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) in a 101-64 demolition of Syracuse.

Cam Boozer Goes Off vs. Syracuse

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Duke plays Michigan in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, which will provide Wolverines star Yaxel Lendeborg an opportunity to make a late case for himself in player of the year conversations.

The senior forward hasn't put up gaudy numbers. He has averaged 14.4 points on 50.0 percent shooting along with 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

But being the best player on the best team in the country can make for a compelling argument. Lendeborg has been a two-way force whose individual production has suffered only because of the depth of talent across his squad.

Dybansta is the Division I leading scorer (24.4 points). However, his player of the year campaigns might be suffering from the fact BYU has lost six of its last nine games.

That's through little fault of the star freshman, who has averaged 27.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists during that span. Still, the Cougars' swoon is something award voters may not ignore.

A pair of injuries over the past week had implications for individual honors and perhaps the NCAA tournament as well.

North Carolina announced on Feb. 12 that star freshman Caleb Wilson is out indefinitely because of a fracture in his left hand.

The Tar Heels lost 75-66 to Miami two nights earlier, which is the game when Wilson was injured, and then were blown out 82-58 by North Carolina State on Tuesday.

The 6'10" forward indicated he hopes to return to the court this year, and he can't come back soon enough for UNC.

The prognosis is much worse for Texas Tech star JT Toppin. The Red Raiders announced Wednesday the junior forward tore his ACL in the 72-67 defeat to Arizona State.

Toppin is the team leader in points (21.8), rebounds (10.8) and blocks (1.7). His injury is obviously a massive blow for Texas Tech, which moved up to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after upsetting Arizona in overtime.

It will take a huge effort from guards Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell and forward LeJuan Watts to guide the Red Raiders back to the Elite Eight.