AJ Dybantsa, more freshmen headline men’s Wooden Award midseason top 25

Nine freshmen, led by Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, top the Wooden Award’s midseason Top 25 Watch Men list released Wednesday.

Boozer leads the nation with 23.3 points per game, with Dybantsa right behind him at 23.1 points per game. Boozer has arguably been the most consistent player in college basketball since the start of the season, scoring at least 14 points in every game and totaling seven double-doubles to lead Duke to a 14-1 start. The 6-foot-9 forward also averages 9.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Dybantsa, meanwhile, recently put together one of the most impressive stretches ever by a freshman. In the month of December, he averaged 27.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals, shooting nearly 66% from the field.

North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson isn’t far behind the two stars, averaging 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds with 10 double-doubles in his first 15 games.

The midseason roster also included two talented freshmen with lingering injury issues. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson has played in just six games this season due to a hamstring injury, although he started the Jayhawks’ last two games and had 32 points in 32 minutes Tuesday against TCU. Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. has missed five straight games with a lower back injury.

These five freshmen were in the top five of ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA Draft big board.

There are also a number of college veterans poised to take home the prize in the second half. Purdue’s Braden Smith entered the season as a favorite thanks to his All-American status last season and the best player on the AP’s preseason No. 1 team. He leads the nation in assists, averaging 9.6 entering the week, setting the Big Ten career record earlier this month. If he maintained that average, Smith would be on pace to set the Division I career assists record (1,076) held by Bobby Hurley.

Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg have emerged as legitimate contenders for the award after an outstanding first two months of the season. Jefferson is the anchor of a 14-0 Cyclones team, averaging 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Lendeborg, a former UAB transfer, leads the No. 2 Wolverines in scoring (14.7) and is second in rebounding (7.0) and assists (3.4).

Players not on Wednesday’s watch list are still eligible for the end-of-season list and final ballot whose vote determines the winner.

Mid-Season Top 25 Wooden Prizes

listed alphabetically

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville
Tucker DeVries, Indiana
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Kingston Flemings, Houston
PJ Haggerty, Kansas State
Thomas Haugh, Florida
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Alex Karaban, UConn
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Koa Peat, Arizona
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Emmanuel Sharp, Houston
Braden Smith, Purdue
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina