The 2025–26 freshman class in college basketball has been touted as generational since some of the stars were 15 years old. Until now, I’ve resisted comparing this season’s group to other classes. But the calendar has flipped to February, teams have played about half of their conference slates and 20-plus games overall. The sample size is enough to say confidently that this freshman class is the best of the one-and-done era.
Much of the talk with this class has surrounded its big three (Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson), who’ve long been expected to dominate college and compete for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft. And if it was only those three showing out, this class would certainly be in the conversation with the best in the last 20-plus years but would have real competition. But no season can make the sheer quantity of elite freshmen making huge impacts on the best teams in the sport. Arizona, still undefeated and the consensus No. 1 team in the country, is led in scoring by a pair of freshmen. So is Duke with Boozer, BYU with Dybantsa, Kansas with Peterson, Illinois with Keaton Wagler and Houston with Kingston Flemings. These aren’t just stars, they’re All-American-level producers in an era in which teams are going to whatever lengths are necessary (including the courtroom) to build older and older rosters.
Box plus/minus is as good a stat as any to track overall statistical impact by individual players. This year, per T-Rank, 15 freshmen have a BPM of eight or higher, a threshold putting players in the top 75 or so players in the country. Last season’s freshman class, which felt loaded at the time, had just seven with a BPM of more than eight. No other season in the T-Rank database (which dates back to 2008), has had more than 10 freshmen hit that threshold. It’s the depth of the class that truly sets it apart, beyond the top names living up to all the hype they’ve received for years.
There’s also the qualitative side of things, the way the stars of this class have delivered in big moments. From Boozer’s 35 points in the most watched college basketball game this season against Arkansas to Wagler’s 46 points at Mackey Arena in a road win at Purdue to Peterson’s electric first half against BYU, there are very few moments this season where the freshmen haven’t exceeded even our loftiest expectations for them. And seeing how they’ve performed with the lights at their brightest so far makes me unbelievably excited to see what they’ll do on the biggest stages of the sport in February and March. Don’t take for granted what you’re seeing from this year’s freshman class: It may be awhile before we see something like this again.
1. Cameron Boozer, F, Duke
Previous: No. 1 | Stats: 23.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.1 apg
Boozer is the runaway favorite for national player of the year, and his Duke team has turned a corner with five straight double-figure victories. From a box plus/minus perspective, Boozer is having the best statistical college season on record, edging out Zion Williamson’s lone year at Duke and Anthony Davis’s freshman season at Kentucky.
2. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois
Previous: No. 6 | Stats: 18.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 4.2 apg
Wagler’s 46 points against Purdue was the best game by any player in college basketball this season, and he followed that up well with 22 points and eight assists vs. Washington and 28 points, five rebounds and five assists vs. Nebraska. He’s the engine of an Illinois offense that currently ranks as the most efficient unit in the KenPom era, and one NBA scout Sports Illustrated spoke with views him as a viable candidate to land in the top five of the draft in June.
3. AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU
Previous: No. 2 | Stats: 23.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.5 apg
BYU has lost three of four, and Dybantsa’s flaws have been exposed in those games against better competition. In those three losses, Dybantsa has shot just 18 of 53 from the field, forced into a heavy diet of midrange pullups by Texas Tech, Arizona and Kansas. That said, his consistent productivity is hard to ignore, and he’s still having a historic freshman season in spite of those shooting woes.
4. Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas
Previous: NR | Stats: 21.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 apg
This is technically Peterson’s debut in these rankings: He has been held out of the first two editions because of a small sample size due to the injuries that have limited him throughout the season. But Peterson has been remarkable to watch when on the floor, and the film from his 20 minutes against BYU may be his best yet with the combination of elite shotmaking, explosiveness off the dribble and defensive impact. He outplayed Dybantsa in that game, but Dybantsa stays ahead of him in the rankings because of the durability issues Peterson has faced that have limited his overall impact this season.
5. Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina
Previous: No. 4 | Stats: 20 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.9 apg
All Wilson does is produce, with five 20-point games in his last six as North Carolina has turned things around from a disastrous trip to the Bay Area with three straight wins. With how fiery a competitor he is, watching him take part in his first Tobacco Road rivalry game vs. Duke on Saturday should be highly entertaining.
6. Kingston Flemings, G, Houston
Previous: No. 3 | Stats: 17 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg
Flemings’s 42-point outburst at Texas Tech was overshadowed some by Wagler’s 46 the same day, but it was still a ridiculous performance and one that solidifies Houston’s offensive hierarchy heading into the stretch run. His ability to constantly generate paint touches changes the Cougars’ offensive ceiling.
7. Brayden Burries, G, Arizona
Previous: No. 8 | Stats: 15.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg
Take out Burries’s slow November and he has been as good as any guard in the country, giving Arizona’s offense a different dynamic with an elite shotmaker to pair with Jaden Bradley in the backcourt. He was the best player on the floor in the win at BYU last week, outdueling Dybantsa with 29 points on an efficient 7 of 13 from the field.
8. Darius Acuff Jr., G, Arkansas
Previous: No. 5 | Stats: 20.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 6.2 apg
Statistically, Acuff compares favorably to many of the elite guards John Calipari coached at Kentucky and Memphis. But his stellar performances haven’t been enough for the Razorbacks to find consistency, stumbling to a home loss vs. Kentucky on Saturday after it had looked like Arkansas had turned the corner with three straight wins.
9. Nate Ament, F, Tennessee
Previous: NR | Stats: 16.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg
Ament has bounced back from a December swoon with elite play of late, averaging 21 points per game in his last six and helping Tennessee to three straight wins. Rick Barnes says he’s “really starting to see the game,” helping him adjust to the physical coverages defenses have thrown at him on a Tennessee team with limited offensive weapons.
10. Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford
Previous: No. 7 | Stats: 21.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg
Stanford’s surprising season has hit the skids with four straight losses, but Okorie is still one of the best stories in the country shouldering a massive load for the Cardinal as a freshman. He’s one of the most electrifying scorers in the country at nearly 22 points per game in spite of being opposing defenses’ focal point since November.
Next up
- Koa Peat, F, Arizona
- Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington
- Isaiah Johnson, G, Colorado
- Amari Allen, F, Alabama
- David Mirković, F, Illinois
- Shelton Henderson, F, Miami
- Stefan Vaaks, G, Providence
- Acaden Lewis, G, Villanova
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara
- Jake Hall, G, New Mexico
Mid-Major Spotlight: Eoin Dillon, F, Belmont
There may not be a better mid-major staff in America at evaluating talent than Belmont: See the success of former Bruins like Ja’Kobi Gillespie (now at Tennessee), Malik Dia (Ole Miss) and Cade Tyson (Minnesota) for evidence. Casey Alexander’s team is at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, and a big reason why is the emergence of Dillon, a 6' 9" shooting forward with serious upside who has turned it on of late. He has scored in double figures in six straight games, including a 23-point outburst at Valparaiso in a tight road win.
More College Basketball from Sports Illustrated
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- Tennessee's Rick Barnes Had Wildest Betting Joke After Team's Bad Passes vs. Auburn
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- Darryn Peterson's Emphatic Slam Puts Exclamation Point on Impressive First Half vs. BYU
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking the Top 10 Men’s College Hoops Freshmen: Surprise Addition to Top Five.
