The debate surrounding the best player in college basketball is more open some years than it is in others.
Last season saw a closely contested battle between Duke’s 18-year-old freshman phenom Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s 23-year-old veteran backbone Johni Broome for the various National Player of the Year awards, although the title for the best player in the sport clearly belonged to Flagg, evidenced by the fact that he went No. 1 in June’s NBA Draft with a massive hype train behind him.
This year’s crop of talent includes players like Texas Tech’s J.T. Toppin, who’s fresh off a Final Four trip with the Red Raiders, and his star ex-teammate Darrion Williams, who elected to transfer to Will Wade’s operation at N.C. State instead of running it back with Toppin in Lubbock for another year. Then there are players like UCLA’s Donovan Dent, who commanded a reported $3 million NIL deal during transfer portal negotiations.
The incoming freshman class includes two potentially generational prospects in Darryn Peterson and A.J. Dybantsa, but neither of those players accomplished as much as somehow underrated Duke signee and 2025 Mr. Basketball USA Cameron Boozer did during his illustrious prep career. The returning talent this season also includes 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, as well as the top target in the transfer portal this offseason in Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg.
In Part 1, we highlighted the four names above in the hunt for that unofficial title. Now, we wrap up our two-part series with four more elite players who could potentially claim the honors.
J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech (6’9, F, Jr.) Age: 20
Toppin, like Braden Smith, is a returning Power 4 conference Player of the Year award honoree, having taken home the Big 12’s premier player award in his first season in the conference with Texas Tech. Toppin was also named the Mountain West co-Freshman of the Year for his efforts during his freshman season at New Mexico (on the same team as Donovan Dent), which also provided him the opportunity to transfer to Texas Tech last offseason after flirting heavily with the NBA Draft.
The draft was less of a temptation for Toppin this time around, mostly due to the fact he was still projected as a late first-round pick in most mocks. Toppin already looked like a man amongst boys last season in the Big 12 and with another year of experience and growth under his belt, it’s certainly going to be difficult to prevent him from earning a second straight conference POY award.
Toppin ranked eighth nationally with 19 double-doubles in 33 appearances last season. His NBA potential lies mostly on the defensive end, as he’s one of the nation’s best interior defenders despite his 6’9 frame.
Donovan Dent, UCLA (6’2, PG, Jr.) Age: 21
The most expensive player in the transfer portal this offseason, Dent is set to become the main man in Westwood after departing from New Mexico this spring. The superstar point guard ranked in the top 15 nationally in both scoring and distributing, averaging 20.4 points and 6.5 assists per game.
Dent was arguably the most consistent performer in all of college hoops last season, reaching double figures in all 35 of his appearances for the Lobos while leading the team to their first regular-season conference title in over a decade. He also became the 14th player in NCAA history to tally 600+ points and 200+ assists in a single campaign, marking the first time a player reached those numbers since Ja Morant did it in 2018-19.
Dent is expected to be the driving force of UCLA’s offense this season. If that goes anything like it did in Albuquerque the last few seasons, the Big 10 Player of the Year Award race will be an outright sprint between Dent, Braden Smith and Yaxel Lendeborg.
Cameron Boozer, Duke (6’9, F, Fr.) Age: 18
You could make a legitimate case that Cameron Boozer is the most accomplished prep basketball player of all time, although its very debatable among the all-time greats such as Lew Alcindor, LeBron James and Kenny Anderson. He won four state championships at the highest classification in Florida, he won three Peach Jam titles on the EYBL circuit in various classifications and he claimed two gold medals with Team USA. Still, he enters his maiden voyage at Duke as only the third most heralded freshman in the country.
While Darryn Peterson and A.J. Dybantsa are the players projected to go 1-2 in the 2026 NBA Draft, neither of them are in a position to succeed quite like Boozer is at Duke this season.
There are no real question marks surrounding this Blue Devil roster, which has become the norm. No program gets more exposure in the national news cycle than Duke does, which will only help Boozer’s case if he performs the way he’s expected to this season. His 6’9, 250-pound frame will make him a viable NBA post threat, but he’s also proficient at attacking the rim and he’s a respectable threat from beyond the arc. Boozer should easily be in the running for the various National Player of the Year awards if this season goes to plan.
Darrion Williams, N.C. State (6’6, F, Jr.) Age: 22
Williams parted ways with his ex-teammate Toppin and his Texas Tech brethren in favor of Will Wade’s renaissance at North Carolina State. I’m sure it played no part in Williams’ decision to head down to the Piedmont, but his departure will also allow him to escape the shadows of Toppin, who would almost certainly be the player getting Texas Tech and the Big 12’s push in the National Player of the Year campaigns.
Instead, Williams will be the leading man for a team that could very well compete for the ACC championship this season. We’ve seen how quickly Wade turned McNeese State from an unknown school in Lake Charles, La., to a headline-commanding mid-major powerhouse. With a player like Williams, who could give the Wolfpack 20+ points a night in the ACC in the right situation, the turnaround should happen even quicker in Raleigh. If Williams is the catalyst that guides N.C. State and Will Wade to the top of the mountain, why wouldn’t he be the best player in college basketball?
