NCAA Basketball: Ranking top 100 returning players entering 2024-25 season

50. Clifford Omoruyi, Alabama Crimson Tide

2023-24 season stats: 10.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG

Clifford Omouruyi, who placed third in the nation in blocks per game last season (2.9), is among the best interior-defending bigs in college basketball. The 6-foot-11 immediately injects a rim-protecting presence that is much needed for the Crimson Tide. Omoruyi won’t be asked to do a whole lot on offense, however, he is a serviceable lob threat who will compete amongst the likes of Jonas Aidoo (Arkansas) and Johni Broome (Auburn).

49. PJ Haggerty, Memphis Tigers

2023-24 season stats: 21.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.8 APG

PJ Haggerty arrives in Memphis after a monster breakout season at Tulsa. After playing in only six games at TCU during his freshman season before redshirting, his commitment to the Golden Hurricane was widely swept under the radar. But not for long. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged over 21 PPG, earning AAC ROY honors. Haggerty was recently named the most important team transfer for the Tigers entering the 2024-25 season.

48. Koby Brea, Kentucky Wildcats

2023-24 season stats: 11.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.2 APG

Koby Brea was college basketball’s most efficient three-point shooter last season, shooting a whopping 50% from behind the arc. He led the nation in 3P% by a comfortable margin. After being heavily pursued by college basketball’s blue-bloods in the transfer portal, Brea opted for Kentucky and should fit in seamlessly, considering he will play for a coach whose team led the nation in three-point attempts last season.

47. Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State Bulldogs

2023-24 season stats: 17.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.7 APG

Despite officially entering the Bulldogs’ starting lineup halfway through the season, Hubbard was among the best freshmen in the SEC last season, leading Mississippi State in scoring at 17.1 PPG. Now returning for his sophomore season, expecting Hubbard to increase his efficiency numbers seems wise considering he will be supplemented alongside an extremely talented backcourt.

46. Caden Pierce, Princeton Tigers

2023-24 season stats: 16.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG

Another Ivy leaguer? Another Princeton Tiger? Returning is the reigning 2023-2024 Ivy League POY, Caden Pierce, who expects to capitalize off the Tigers’ recent success over the past two years. As a double-double threat, Pierce ranks sixth in the nation in BartTorvik’s PORPAGATU, which estimates how many more points a player creates than a hypothetical “replacement player” would, according to Torvik’s official site.