Cameron Boozer Wins 2026 Wooden Award Over AJ Dybantsa, Darius Acuff Jr., More

Duke power forward Cameron Boozer has won the John R. Wooden Award, which honors the most outstanding men's and women's collegiate basketball players in the United States.

Boozer arrived at Duke as one of the best and most hyped class of 2025 prospects in the country. Of note, 247Sports ranked Boozer third overall. He delivered on the potential and then some, averaging 22.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting (39.1 percent from three), 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals.

The Blue Devils went 35-3 (17-1 in the ACC regular season) and won the conference tournament as well. They earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and reached the Elite Eight.

Duke appeared headed to the Final Four after taking a 19-point lead against UConn, but a tremendous comeback capped by Braylon Mullins' 35-foot three-pointer sent the Huskies onward, 73-72.

The award is no surprise. Boozer, a unanimous first-team AP All-American, was just named the AP's men's collegiate player of the year. He was a near-unanimous winner, taking 59 of 61 votes.

The other four Wooden Award finalists alongside Boozer were BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr., Michigan grad student forward Yaxel Lendeborg and Purdue senior guard Braden Smith.

The award is named after legendary UCLA men's basketball head coach John Wooden, who led the Bruins to 10 national championships within a 12-year period (1964-1975).

As for what's next for Boozer, the NBA is calling the superstar's name. The latest B/R NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman has Boozer going No. 3 overall.

Earlier in the evening, UConn forward Sarah Strong won the Wooden Award as well. The women's final five consisted of Strong, UCLA center Lauren Betts, Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, UConn guard Azzi Fudd and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo.