NCAA Basketball: National Player of the Year Rankings after Week 1

After one week of NCAA basketball games, which players look to be the frontrunners for the National Player of the Year award?

One of the best parts of sports, especially college basketball, is watching young athletes excel and work to be the best player in the league. Every year, new players establish themselves as the nation’s best, and fans are treated to some of the best moments in sports.

Last season, the NCAA had an incredibly close race for the National Player of the Year awards. Kansas’ Frank Mason was a steady senior leader who led the Jayhawks to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball took the country by storm by quickly becoming the best pure point guard in the country. Villanova’s Josh Hart and Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss were the do-everything players that took over for their team when the game was on the line. The race also included some excellent big men in Baylor’s Johnathan Motley and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan.

With all these players now playing professionally, it is time for a new crop of elite players to take over the NCAA. This list features some experienced senior leaders, top freshmen recruits, and players that could definitely make a huge jump in production.

There are many Player of the Year awards, including the Naismith, Associated Press, and Wooden awards, and it is incredibly tough to determine a single unanimous winner. This list will attempt to track the top contenders for these awards. This is not an exhaustive list of all potential candidates, and as the season progresses there are sure to be changes.

So let’s take a look our Top 25 rankings for the National Player of the Year after Week 1.