Jeff Borzello
Myron Medcalf
Myron Medcalf
ESPN Staff Writer
Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.
What initially looked like one of the best freshman classes in the history of college basketball is living up to the hype, with first-year players continuing to star in the biggest games after a hot start to the season.
One freshman you won’t find in these rankings is Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. ESPN’s projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft opened his college career with back-to-back 20-point games, against Green Bay and North Carolina, before missing the next seven contests with a hamstring injury. Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Peterson is “very close” to a return, but in order to be eligible for this list, a player needs to suit up in 50% or more of his team’s games. Once Peterson hits that threshold, he’ll immediately vault into the mix at the top. Until then, though, he remains on the outside looking in.
Peterson’s return should up the drama of this Freshman of the Year race, as our current No. 1 player has already established some separation between him and every other contender — possibly even for National Player of the Year too.
Two players dropped out since the first edition of these rankings: Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas and Illinois’ David Mirkovic.
Now, let’s dive into the latest top 10.
Previous rank: 2
Biggest performance so far: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal vs. Florida on Dec. 2
We’ve already reached the point at which we have to compare Boozer’s numbers to some of the greatest college basketball players in recent memory. Anthony Davis (133.5 in 2012), Jalen Brunson (128.5 in 2018), Zion Williamson (129.2 in 2019) and Cooper Flagg (123.0 in 2025) had some of the highest offensive ratings in the history of KenPom during their National Player of the Year seasons. After a blistering November and 29-point effort in a major win over Florida, Boozer has an offensive rating of 142.8. — Myron Medcalf
Previous rank: 1
Biggest performance so far: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals vs. UConn in Boston on Nov. 15
While the highlight-worthy dunks have helped Dybantsa go viral, his defensive impact deserves equal attention. BYU is a top-25 team in adjusted defensive efficiency, and when Dybantsa and Kennard Davis Jr. are on the floor together, opposing teams have registered just 83.4 points per possessions against the Cougars. Players who have tried to take spot-up jump shots over Dybantsa are just 5-for-28, per Synergy Sports data. His versatility has altered BYU’s makeup on both sides of the ball. — Medcalf
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AJ Dybantsa’s best Plays vs. Dayton Flyers
AJ Dybantsa’s best Plays vs. Dayton Flyers
Previous rank: 3
Biggest performance so far: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists vs. Kansas on Nov. 7
The incredible start to Wilson’s college career — 19.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game (both top 50 nationally) — was enough for us to consider ranking him ahead of Dybantsa, but retaining the No. 3 spot is no slight against Wilson. He logged 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists against Kansas in early November during his second game in a Tar Heels uniform. Wilson then notched four straight double-doubles before finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds against Michigan State on Thanksgiving in North Carolina’s only loss of the season so far. — Jeff Borzello
Previous rank: 4
Biggest performance so far: 29 points, 5 assists vs. Kentucky on Nov. 11
It’s no coincidence that Brown’s two biggest performances came in Louisville’s two biggest wins of the campaign, against Kentucky and Cincinnati. His effort against the Wildcats helped vault Brown to No. 4 in our first iteration of these rankings, and his 22-point, 5-rebound, 6-assist outing against the Bearcats keeps him there. Brown will see arguably his toughest head-to-head matchup thus far on Wednesday, when Louisville takes on Arkansas and its freshman guard duo of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas in Fayetteville. — Borzello
Previous rank: 6
Biggest performance so far: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals vs. Tennessee in Las Vegas on Nov. 25
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Since the 2020-21 campaign, four Houston guards have earned All-America honors. Flemings has a chance to be the fifth after his hot start. He had an inconsistent stretch at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, where his breakout game against Tennessee was sandwiched between a combined 1-for-10 effort in wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame. But overall, the 6-foot-3 wing is averaging 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds while connecting on 52.4% of his 3-point attempts. He has a chance to be the Cougars’ leader. — Medcalf
Previous rank: 10
Biggest performance so far: 21 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal vs. Duke in Chicago on Nov. 27
If this freshman class wasn’t as strong as it is, there would be more national buzz about Acuff. He had a shaky first half in last week’s loss to Duke but still finished with an impressive individual box score, and he has scored 20 or more points in four of seven games thus far. He is averaging 17.4 points and 4.4 assists while connecting on 45% of his 3-point attempts. John Calipari has had his best campaigns with elite point guards, and he has another one, it appears, in Fayetteville with Acuff. — Medcalf
Previous rank: 5
Biggest performance so far: 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists vs. Florida on Nov. 3
Peat hasn’t quite been able to replicate his season-opening effort against Florida, when he had one of the best debuts in recent college basketball history. If you remove that performance from his numbers, he’s averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds — thus his drop in the rankings. But he was productive in Arizona’s huge road win at UConn on Nov. 19, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks while helping the Wildcats dominate the paint against a physical Huskies team. — Borzello
Previous rank: 10
Biggest performance so far: 26 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals vs. Winthrop on Nov. 18
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Thomas is part of one of the country’s top backcourts, holding the higher offensive rating (121.0) between him and the aforementioned Acuff. Thomas leads Arkansas in scoring at 17.6 points per game while averaging 4.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. He also is making 83.3% of his free throw attempts and 50% of his shots inside the arc. Thomas is an elite guard and one of the top playmakers across the sport. — Medcalf
Previous rank: 8
Biggest performance so far: 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists vs. Northern Kentucky on Nov. 8
Ament’s shooting numbers haven’t really been there all season; he’s 41.6% from the field and 27.6% from 3-point range. But he has a high usage rate for a freshman and is drawing fouls at an incredible high clip. He’s averaging 17.1 points (hitting 20-plus points on three occasions), 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Ament drops a spot in the rankings after a couple of poor recent outings. He was just 1-for-8 in the win over Houston then finished with 11 points and seven turnovers on 2-for-10 shooting in Tuesday’s loss to Syracuse. — Borzello
Previous rank: NR
Biggest performance so far: 19 points, 6 assists, 3 steals vs. Syracuse in Las Vegas on Nov. 26
There might not have been a freshman who boosted his stock more in Las Vegas than Toure, who stepped up following Tamin Lipsey’s injury in the Cyclones’ Players Era opener against St. John’s. Toure went for a season-high 20 points in a win over Creighton the next day, followed immediately by 19 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in a win over Syracuse. He was averaging just 8.6 points entering those two tilts, but growing confidence in his offensive role combined with his physical tools and two-way ability make it clear that T.J. Otzelberger has another emerging star on his hands. — Borzello
Also considered: Ebuka Okorie, Stanford; David Mirkovic, Illinois; Thijs De Ridder, Virginia; Kayden Mingo, Penn State
