The National Player of the Year race is wide open at the start of the new NCAA Basketball season. These players are already stealing headlines.
Last year, only two names dominated the National Player of the Year conversation in Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Villanova’s Jalen Brunson. With both now in the NBA, the Player of the Year race has been wide open to start the season.
A few returning players – specifically Purdue’s Carsen Edwards and Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ – started the season as perceived frontrunners and have nothing to relinquish their position. Other preseason favorites like UNC‘s Luke Maye and Kansas’ Dedric Lawson have not had the same kind of impact (yet) as expected.
That has kept the door open for others to throw their name into the mix and many are taking advantage. Duke has a number of freshmen from their prized recruiting class that is firmly in the race and Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura has emerged as the clear best player on what might be the best team in the nation.
Obviously, there is still plenty of season left and some of these players will fall off while new faces will step to the forefront. But, right now, who are the best players in the country? Here is the current top 10 in the National Player of the Year race:
Narrowly missed: Kerwin Roach, Coby White, Charles Matthews, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jared Harper