Jeff BorzelloCloseJeff BorzelloBasketball recruiting insiderJeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.Follow on XMyron MedcalfCloseMyron MedcalfESPN Staff WriterMyron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.Follow on XDec 17, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
play0:22AJ Dybantsa elevates for slam vs. UC Riverside HighlandersAJ Dybantsa rocks the rim with powerful jam
play0:27Kingston Flemings knocks down shotKingston Flemings drills basket vs. New Orleans Privateers
Cameron Boozer’s double-double lifts Duke in second half (1:21)Cameron Boozer takes over after halftime, posting a double-double to power Duke past Lipscomb. (1:21)
AJ Dybantsa elevates for slam vs. UC Riverside HighlandersAJ Dybantsa rocks the rim with powerful jam
play0:21Darius Acuff Jr. skies for big jamDarius Acuff Jr. skies for big jam
We’ve deemed this the best freshman class in recent memory — standout performances by stars such as BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson have been the anchors of that theory. But the beauty of this class is that it’s full of high-level players who could become household names by the end of March.
All three made ESPN’s latest ranking of Freshman of the Year candidates, while projected lottery picks such as Arizona’s Koa Peat and Tennessee’s Nate Ament have fallen out of our top 10 after not playing up to their potential in recent weeks.
With the goal of highlighting freshmen playing the best basketball right now, we’ve also left out Kansas star and projected No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson, whose injury issues have meant he hasn’t met our criteria of participating in at least 50% of his team’s games.
AJ Dybantsa elevates for slam vs. UC Riverside Highlanders
Darius Acuff Jr. skies for big jamDarius Acuff Jr. skies for big jam
Kingston Flemings knocks down shotKingston Flemings drills basket vs. New Orleans Privateers
Kingston Flemings drills basket vs. New Orleans Privateers
Boozer continues to be the clear-cut favorite for Freshman of the Year and National Player of the Year, producing at an incredibly high level against one of the toughest schedules in the country. He has had some lulls in the first halves of some certain games — 0 points vs. Texas, 7 vs. Kansas, 2 at Michigan State — but his dominance when it matters remains unmatched. In those three aforementioned games, Boozer still finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds against Texas; 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists against Kansas; and 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5 rebounds against Michigan State. Entering the week, he led the country in scoring at 23.0 points per game and was in the top 20 of rebounds at 9.9 per game. — Jeff Borzello
When BYU surrendered a 21-0 run at the end of the first half against Clemson last week, it seemed as though the Cougars had been humbled by their fifth halftime deficit of the season. Then Dybantsa took control in the second half, showcasing the talent that has him in the race for the No.1 pick by scoring or assisting on 34 of their 45 second-half points, according to ESPN Research. No player has put together a second-half stretch better than what we witnessed from the freshman sensation in a come-from-behind win over the Tigers. — Myron Medcalf
Wilson is showing no signs of slowing down — and as the NBA scouts Jeremy Woo and I spoke to recently indicated, the gap between him and Dybantsa is not as wide as one might think. Wilson entered the week inside the top 50 nationally in scoring (19.4) and top 10 in rebounding (10.6), posting seven double-doubles in his past eight games. He continues to find ways to impact games, even when he’s not particularly efficient from the field. Take, for example, his performance against Kentucky. He wasn’t at his best offensively, shooting just 5-for-19, but he still made his presence felt with 15 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 6 assists. — Borzello
Since Arkansas’ loss to Duke on Nov. 27, the Razorbacks have been eighth in adjusted offensive efficiency and made 40% of their 3-point attempts, per barttorvik.com. And Acuff’s brilliance has been the key factor in that surge. In the first three games of December, which included wins over ranked Louisville and Texas Tech teams, Acuff averaged 18.3 points and connected on 57% of his shots inside the arc. He also nearly registered a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio over that stretch. Acuff will enter conference play in January as a serious contender for SEC Player of the Year. — Medcalf
One of three new names in the latest edition of these rankings, Steinbach returned from an ankle injury that cost him three games in November to play some of the best basketball in the country. He had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in a two-point loss to UCLA; 24 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists in a win at USC; then 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes against Southern Utah. The Germany native has been remarkably efficient, shooting 65% from the field with a KenPom offensive rating in the top 50 nationally. Entering the week, he was averaging 17.9 points and 11.9 rebounds — tied for first in the country in the latter category. — Borzello
Houston is 357th out of 365 Division I teams in adjusted tempo, and Flemings is fourth among the team’s starters in the percentage of shots he takes when he’s on the court, both according to KenPom. All of that means Flemings gets fewer opportunities to affect games because of Houston’s slower pace. If you imagine him as a freshman who played 40 instead of 28.9 minutes per game, he’d look like a bona fide superstar — his averages would extrapolate from 14.8 to 20.4 PPG, 4.9 to 6.8 APG and 2.0 to 2.8 SPG. Still, he drops a spot due to recent lackluster efforts against Jacksonville State and Notre Dame. — Medcalf
Brown drops a couple of spots after some uneven performances in recent weeks, particularly when it comes to shooting. Some of it could possibly be attributed to a lower back injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s loss to Tennessee. Since his breakout performance against Kentucky, Brown is shooting 32.9% from the field and 25% from 3 over his past seven games — including just 18.2% from 3 since our last update two weeks ago. On the plus side, he still went toe-to-toe with Acuff in their head-to-head matchup on Dec. 3 and finished with 22 points, 16 of which came in the second half as Louisville attempted a comeback against Arkansas. — Borzello
A four-star recruit in the 2025 class, Wagler didn’t enjoy the hype his peers did in high school but continues to prove he belongs in the conversation of most talented freshmen with elite efforts in Illinois’ most challenging games. He finished with 19 points and 10 assists in a narrow loss to Nebraska last Saturday. He had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a win over Tennessee. And he had 23 points in a win over Ohio State. The 6-foot-6 standout is trending toward a great freshman season, shooting 38.9% from 3 so far. — Medcalf
After the top three, there might not be anyone on this list playing better basketball over the past couple of weeks than Burries. A five-star prospect, Burries got off to a slow start, averaging just 7.8 points through his first five games while shooting 33.3% from the field and 29.4% from 3. But over his past four games, Burries is averaging 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, shooting 56.9% from the field and 39.1% from 3. He was terrific in last Saturday’s win over Alabama with 28 points and five 3s. — Borzello
Toure doesn’t have the raw numbers to compete with the extravagant statistics some of the freshmen on this list have produced (11.4 PPG, 2.4 APG, 2.1 SPG), but he exemplifies the value of analytics. Per Synergy Sports data, opposing players have connected on just 29% of their field goal attempts when Iowa State plays man-to-man defense, and he’s listed as an excellent defender. He and Milan Momcilovic are also 24th on EvanMiya.com’s lists of most efficient pairings in the country. Toure is a pivotal player in Iowa State’s success this season. — Medcalf
Cameron Boozer’s double-double lifts Duke in second half (1:21)Cameron Boozer takes over after halftime, posting a double-double to power Duke past Lipscomb. (1:21)
Cameron Boozer takes over after halftime, posting a double-double to power Duke past Lipscomb. (1:21)
CloseJeff BorzelloBasketball recruiting insiderJeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.Follow on X
CloseMyron MedcalfESPN Staff WriterMyron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.Follow on X
Biggest performance so far: 35 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists vs. Arkansas on Nov. 27
Biggest performance so far: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Clemson in New York City on Dec. 9
Biggest performance so far: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists vs. Kansas on Nov. 7
Biggest performance so far: 17 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds vs. Louisville on Dec. 3
Biggest performance so far: 29 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists vs. UCLA on Dec. 3
Biggest performance so far: 22 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block vs. Auburn on Nov. 16
Biggest performance so far: 29 points, 5 assists vs. Kentucky on Nov. 11
Biggest performance so far: 19 points and 10 assists vs. Nebraska on Dec. 13
Biggest performance so far: 28 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists vs. Alabama on Dec. 13
Biggest performance so far: 19 points, 6 assists, 3 steals vs. Syracuse in Las Vegas on Nov. 26
play0:16Brayden Burries flies in for a Wildcats dunkArizona turns defense into offense and Brayden Burries slams home the dunk.
Brayden Burries flies in for a Wildcats dunkArizona turns defense into offense and Brayden Burries slams home the dunk.
