2026 Men's NCAA Tournament, Ranking the 25 Best Players
This year's NCAA tournament field features a star-studded cast of players, including a trio of first team All-American freshmen in Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Duke's Cameron Boozer and BYU's AJ Dybantsa.
In fact, with the exception of injured stars JT Toppin (Texas Tech) and Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) every player that earned first, second or third team All-American honors is part of this year's tournament field, and that type of star power during March Madness is not always guaranteed.
In preparation for another exciting NCAA tournament, we've highlighted the top 25 players from this year's field of 68 teams, focusing on players who will be active participants.
Expected performance during the 2026 NCAA tournament is the name of the game, so future projection and NBA upside are not part of the conversation, though the list still features a significant amount of future pro talent.
Small School Stars to Know
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They didn't crack our Top 25 list, but here are five small school players capable of making their mark on the 2026 NCAA tournament:
1. Peter Suder, Miami (OH): The MAC Player of the Year and captain of a RedHawks team that navigated the regular season with an undefeated record. Filled up the stat sheet with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
2. Tavari Johnson, Akron: Led the MAC in scoring with 20.1 points per game while dishing out 170 assists against 83 turnovers. Scored in double figures in all but two games this season, and had a pair of 30-point performances.
3. Cruz Davis, Hofstra: Recruited by Rick Pitino at Iona and followed him to St. John's, but lost most of the 2023-24 season to injury before transferring to Hofstra. Led the CAA in scoring (20.2 PPG) and minutes (37.9 MPG), and dropped 30 on William & Mary in the CAA tournament opener.
4. Dominique Daniels Jr., Cal Baptist: Ranks fifth in the nation with 23.2 points per game, and has won the WAC scoring title in back-to-back seasons. Has scored 30 or more points seven times this year, including a pair of 40-point explosions.
5. Gavin Doty, Siena: Averages 17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists, and has 14 games with at least 20 points. One of the few outside threats on a Siena team that does not shoot the deep ball well, knocking down 43 threes at a 33.3 percent clip.
Nos. 25-21
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25. Aday Mara, Michigan
Mara is a towering 7'3", 240-pound presence in the middle of a Michigan defense that has been the best in the nation this season. The UCLA transfer won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors while leading the conference with 89 blocks, and he also chipped in 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.1 minutes per game.
24. Nick Boyd, Wisconsin
Boyd helped the Badgers reach the Big Ten tournament semifinals with a 38-point performance in their overtime win against Illinois in the quarterfinals. The 6'3" guard was a starter for the Florida Atlantic team that reached the Final Four in 2023, and he has now reached the NCAA tournament four times for three different schools.
23. Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
After stops at Belmont and Maryland, Gillespie transferred to Tennessee during the offseason to replace Zakai Ziegler at point guard. He leads the Volunteers in scoring (18.0 PPG) and assists (5.5 APG), and he has also knocked down a team-high 88 threes, more than twice as many as anyone else on the roster.
22. Alex Karaban, UConn
Karaban was a starter on the Huskies team that won back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, and he enters the tournament with 144 career starts under his belt. The numbers don't jump off the page, but he contributes in a wide variety of ways, averaging 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.
21. Brayden Burries, Arizona
A 5-star recruit and top-10 player in the 2025 class, Burries leads a loaded Arizona roster in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and he has settled in nicely after an inconsistent start to the year. Over his last 15 games, he is averaging 18.2 points and shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range.
Nos. 20-16
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20. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Stirtz won MVC Player of the Year at Drake last season, then followed head coach Ben McCollum to Iowa. The 6'4" guard didn't miss a beat while stepping up a level in competition, earning second team All-Big Ten honors while averaging 20.0 points and 4.5 assists. His 37.5 minutes per game led the conference, and he is as instrumental to his team's success as anyone on this list.
19. Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Momcilovic is the most dangerous shooter in the country, leading the nation in both made threes (127) and three-point percentage (49.6%) en route to a team-high 17.1 points per game for the No. 2 seed Cyclones. The 6'8" forward has made seven or more threes in six different games this season, including an 8-of-14 performance from distance against Arizona in the Big 12 tournament.
18. Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
Ejiofor won Big East Player of the Year by averaging 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals. He also took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in the conference, and he stands out as one of the best two-way players in the country. He had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a blowout victory over UConn in the Big East championship game.
17. Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Ike has effectively filled the big shoes of Drew Timme over the past three seasons at Gonzaga, serving as the team's go-to scorer inside. He led the WCC in scoring (19.7 PPG) and eFG% (.602) to earn Player of the Year accolades, and he also became more of a threat from outside this year with 23 threes, which is more than he made in his first two seasons at Gonzaga combined.
16. Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Philon is the catalyst for an Alabama team that plays with the fastest tempo of any team in the NCAA tournament field. The 6'4" sophomore has more than doubled his scoring average this year from 10.6 to 21.7 points per game, and he has also dished out 4.7 assists per contest while knocking down 70 threes at a blistering 40.2 percent clip.
Nos. 15-11
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15. Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Peterson only took the floor for 22 games this season, and his lack of consistent availability has been a major talking point, but when he has played the skillset has been as advertised. The 5-star freshman averages 19.8 points and shoots 38.4 percent from distance, and he had a 32-point game against TCU back in January. He will be the X-factor if the Jayhawks make a deep run.
14. Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Thornton became the Buckeyes all-time leading scorer during the regular-season finale against Indiana, and he stands at 2,154 career points during his four years at Ohio State. His 20.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game are both career-high marks, and he also has a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
13. Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Bradley is the engine for an extremely talented Arizona team that was short on experience heading into the season, and while his 13.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game might not explode off the page, his veteran presence has been extremely important to the Wildcats success. To that point, he took home Big 12 Player of the Year honors over the gaudier stat lines of AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Justin Jefferson (Iowa State).
12. Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
A 3-star recruit whose only major conference offers were from Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, Tanner turned in one of the more unexpected breakouts of the 2025-26 season. After contributing a modest 5.7 points per game off the bench as a freshman, he piled up 19.2 points, 5.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals this season to earn first team All-SEC honors.
11. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Anderson was not supposed to be the focal point of the Red Raiders offense this season, but he has stepped into that role since JT Toppin suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Feb. 17. The 6'2" sophomore averages 18.9 points and a Big 12-leading 7.6 assists per game, and he is one of the nation's most lethal outside shooters with 105 made threes at a 42.5 percent clip.
Nos. 10-6
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10. Thomas Haugh, Florida
Haugh was a complementary piece on Florida's national championship team a year ago, but with guards Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard all moving on to the NBA, he has stepped up as the focal point for a No. 1 seed Gators squad. The 6'9" forward does a little bit of everything, averaging 17.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks.
9. Kingston Flemings, Houston
The Cougars once again have a standout trio of guards, with the freshman Flemings headlining a group that also includes seniors Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan. Despite his youth, Flemings has played like a veteran, averaging 16.4 points and 5.3 assists while turning in a 180-to-63 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also has a team-high 53 steals and has been a key cog in Houston's elite defense.
8. Braden Smith, Purdue
A first team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year last season, Smith has once again been one of the nation's elite point guards. He averages 14.0 points and 9.1 assists, and he has 16 games this season with double-digit assists as arguably the best facilitator in the nation. He has been a bit less effective shooting the three ball, but is still as impactful on the outcome of a game as anyone in the tournament field.
7. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Few players stuffed the box score this season the way Jefferson did for the Cyclones, averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists, and he also shot a career-high 34.5 percent from three-point range in his fourth collegiate season. He had a pair of triple-doubles in Big 12 play, becoming the first player in Iowa State history to record more than one in a season.
6. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
Fears narrowly edges out Braden Smith for the NCAA lead in assists per game at 9.2, and he has done it while more than doubling his scoring average from 7.2 to 15.7 points per game in his third season with the Spartans. He has really hit his stride of late, averaging 19.5 points and 9.8 assists over his last 12 games, including a season-high 31 points against the vaunted Michigan defense at the end of January.
5. Keaton Wagler, Illinois
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Stats: 32 G, 17.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.4 APG, 74 3PT, 40.2 3PT%
Accolades: 1st Team All-Big Ten, 2nd Team All-American
A 3-star recruit ranked outside the top 200 players in the 2025 recruiting class, Keaton Wagler has been one of the biggest breakout stories of the 2025-26 season.
The 6'6" guard is the driving force behind an Illinois offense that ranks No. 2 in KenPom's adjusted efficiency metric, and he put together one of the most impressive individual performances of the season when he dropped 46 points on Purdue at Mackey Arena.
He also stepped into the lead ball-handling role when Kylan Boswell missed time with a fractured right hand, further adding to his all-around value to an Illinois team with Final Four aspirations.
4. Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
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Stats: 33 G, 22.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.5 APG, 85 3PT, 44.5 3PT%
Accolades: SEC Player of the Year, 1st Team All-American
Darius Acuff Jr. joined Anthony Davis (2012) and Brandon Miller (2023) as the only players in SEC history to win both Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season.
The do-it-all point guard has a 216-to-71 assist-to-turnover ratio, and he has recorded six double-doubles with assists, though he is also the SEC's leading scorer and a lethal outside threat.
He has scored in double figures in every game this season, including a 49-point explosion in a shootout against Alabama, and his 44.5 percent clip from beyond the arc is good for sixth in the nation.
3. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
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Stats: 33 G, 14.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 45 blocks, 41 steals
Accolades: Big Ten Player of the Year, 1st Team All-American
Yaxel Lendeborg made the somewhat surprising decision not to enter the NBA draft last year following a standout season at UAB where he averaged 17.7 points and 11.4 rebounds, but it has paid off in a major way.
Playing alongside fellow bigs Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, he has been a matchup nightmare, and while he doesn't have the same gaudy scoring numbers as the other top players on this list, his contributions have been uniquely all-encompassing.
He is one of only three players in the nation with 400 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists, 40 steals and 40 blocks, and he has also developed an improved outside game (49 3PT, 34.3 3PT%) to better co-exist with the Wolverines other big men.
2. AJ Dybantsa, BYU
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Stats: 34 G, 25.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.8 APG, 48 3PT, 34.0 3PT%
Accolades: 1st Team All-Big 12, 1st Team All-American
AJ Dybantsa stepped onto campus with as much hype as any 2025 recruit, and he delivered in a big way by leading the nation with 25.3 points per game.
He scored at least 20 points in 27 of 34 games for a BYU team that lost star guard Richie Saunders (18.0 PPG) to a torn ACL in mid-February, putting even more on his shoulders offensively down the stretch.
Standout performances against Arizona (59 points in 2 games), Iowa State (29 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) and Houston (54 points in 2 games) are a good indication he is ready for the bright lights of March Madness and the tough matchups that come with it.
1. Cameron Boozer, Duke
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Stats: 34 G, 22.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 52 3PT, 40.9 3PT%
Accolades: ACC Player of the Year, 1st Team All-American
It's not often a college player who puts up 20 points and 10 rebounds per game also chips in four assists and 1.5 steals per contest while shooting above 40 percent from beyond the arc.
That impact in all facets of the game is the reason Cameron Boozer will almost certainly walk away with National Player of the Year honors, and it's also the biggest reason Duke went 32-2 en route to the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA tournament.
With 19 double-doubles, 17 games with multiple three-pointers and 12 games with five or more assists, he is capable of impacting the game in such a wide variety of ways that it is virtually impossible to keep him from making a positive impact.
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