NCAA Basketball: Ranking top 100 returning players entering 2024-25 season
The start of the 2024-25 NCAA basketball season is right around the corner. In fact, in less than 40 days, the ball officially tips -- but who's counting, right?
While each year in college basketball brings in plenty of intrigue with highly-touted recruits and breakout candidates, it’s the returning players who often shape the landscape of the NCAA basketball season. This year alone, four 2023-24 AP All-Americans are back in the fold. Once again, they will surely earn spots on that list.
With that being said, take a look at the top 100 returning players in college basketball entering the 2024-25 season.
100. Xaivian Lee, Princeton Tigers
2023-24 season stats: 17.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.7 APG
The Ivy League has been gutted by the transfer portal. That’s not necessarily the case for the Princeton Tigers. Xavian Lee, among college basketball’s biggest breakout stars last season, increased his PPG from 4.8 to 17.1 in one season. Lee, headlined with another player to be named on this list shortly, creates a dynamic 1-2 punch that makes the Princeton Tigers the clear Ivy League favorite entering the 2024-25 season.
99. Dylan Andrews, UCLA Bruins
2023-24 season stats: 12.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.7 APG
UCLA will be among the deepest teams in the country this season. And that is by design considering its shortcomings last year. Realistically, one can make a case to swap Andrews and add Lazar Stefanovic, Kobe Johnson, or even Sebastian Mack here. That’s just how deep the Bruins are this year. However, Andrews gets the slight nod here, who led the Bruins in scoring (12.9) and assists (3.7) last season and is positioned to be the starting PG in Westwood.
98. Khalif Battle, Gonzaga Bulldogs
2023-24 season stats: 14.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG
Perhaps no returnee in college basketball had as impressive of an offensive spurt as Khalif Battle last season at Arkansas. In the Razorbacks’ final seven games of its season, Battle averaged a whopping 29.6 PPG. Off to Gonzaga for his final season of eligibility, the well-traveled veteran expects to be a key piece on one of college basketball’s top teams next season.
97. Tony Perkins, Missouri Tigers
2023-24 season stats: 14.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.6 APG
Tony Perkins, who earned All-Big Ten second-team honors last season, has demonstrated consistent improvement over his four-year tenure in Iowa City, leading the Iowa Hawkeyes in assists (4.6) and steals (1.6) last season. Off to Missouri for his final year of eligibility, the ultra-aggressive combo guard is a physical straight-line slasher who finishes well through contact and in transition. Expect another big season ahead for Perkins.
96. Chucky Hepburn, Louisville Cardinals
2023-24 season stats: 9.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.9 APG
The three-year starting guard was the heartbeat in the Wisconsin Badgers backcourt. Among the elite on-ball defenders in the country, Hepburn averaged over two steals per game last season while placing 14th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.19). Despite a dip in volume offensively, the floor general has showcased his ability to be a lethal two-way player -- a perfect fit for the new-look Louisville Cardinals.