USBWA Announces 2025-26 Oscar Robertson Trophy and Wayman Tisdale Award Preseason Watch Lists

Indianapolis, IN – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association unveiled its preseason watch lists for the 2025-26 Oscar Robertson Trophy and Wayman Tisdale Award on Sunday. Highlighting what could be one of the most talented groups of players college basketball has seen in recent years.

Oscar Robertson Trophy: Nation’s Top Player Award

Fifty standout returning players earned spots on the preseason watch list for college basketball’s oldest and most prestigious individual honor. The Oscar Robertson Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s top men’s college basketball player.

The list is headlined by two returning second-team USBWA All-Americans: PJ Haggerty, who transferred from Memphis to Kansas State, and JT Toppin of Texas Tech.

“Our list is stacked with proven talent, returning All-Americans and glitzy freshmen,” said 2025-26 USBWA President Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. “On the whole, this could be as talented a group of players as we’ve seen in the past five-plus years in college hoops.”

Notable Names on the Oscar Robertson Watch List

The 50-player roster features elite talent from across the country, including:

• UConn’s trio: Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, and Tarris Reed Jr., as the defending champions, look to reload
• Purdue’s dynamic duo: Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith, anchoring the Boilermakers’ title hopes
• Top freshmen: Cameron Boozer (Duke) and AJ Dybantsa (BYU), already making waves
• Transfer stars: Haggerty at Kansas State and Milos Uzan at Houston
• Conference standouts: Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Labaron Philon (Alabama), and Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)

Award History and Process

Named after the legendary Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson—a two-time USBWA Player of the Year—the award has been presented annually since the 1958-59 season and renamed in Robertson’s honor in 1997-98. It remains the only national player of the year award named after a former player.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will announce finalists, with the entire 800-member organization voting on the winner. The award will be presented at the 2026 Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, with a formal ceremony to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

NCAA Basketball Men’s News:

• Historic Sellout: Army West Point Men’s Basketball Veterans Day Showdown with Duke
• UConn Men’s Basketball Dominates Boston College 71-52 in Hall of Fame Exhibition
• No. 7 Michigan Stuns No. 5 St. John’s 96-94 in Overtime Thriller at Madison Square Garden
• Big East Media Day: Pitino’s St. John’s Reloaded, UConn Women Eye Repeat, Conference Poised for Competitive Season

Wayman Tisdale Award: Freshman of the Year Race Wide Open

The USBWA also revealed its preseason watch list for the Wayman Tisdale Award, recognizing the nation’s top freshman, with 25 first-year players earning recognition.

“This is as loaded of a list as we’ve ever had heading into a season,” Norlander said. “In some years, finding 25 freshmen to fill out a Watch List proves difficult due to uncertainty with impact and playing time. Not this year.”

Freshman Phenoms to Watch

The Tisdale Award watch list features some of the most highly touted recruits in recent memory:

• AJ Dybantsa (BYU): The consensus No. 1 recruit and potential generational talent
• Cameron Boozer (Duke): Son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, leading a loaded Blue Devils freshman class
• Darryn Peterson (Kansas): Dynamic guard expected to make an immediate impact in Lawrence
• Caleb Wilson (North Carolina): Five-star big man joining the Tar Heels’ frontcourt
• Acaden Lewis (Villanova): Highly regarded guard in Jay Wright’s successor, Kyle Neptune’s system

Houston boasts three freshmen on the list—Chris Cenac Jr., Kingston Flemings, and Isaiah Harwell—as coach Kelvin Sampson continues to reload with elite young talent.

Rare Company

Last season, Duke’s Cooper Flagg swept both the Wayman Tisdale Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, joining an exclusive club that includes only Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant as freshmen to win both honors in the same season.

The Wayman Tisdale Award, named for the late Oklahoma All-American who passed away in 2009, has been presented annually since the 1988-89 season and renamed in Tisdale’s honor in 2010-11.

What’s Next

The USBWA will publish updated watch lists in January as the season progresses and standout performances emerge. Both awards are voted on by the entire USBWA membership and based on regular-season performance.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association, formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers, represents approximately 800 members worldwide and remains one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. The USBWA has selected an All-America team annually since the 1956-57 season.

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Complete Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List (50):

Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas), Nate Ament (Tennessee), Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), Robbie Avila (Saint Louis), Solo Ball (UConn), Myles Bird (San Diego State), Nate Bittle (Oregon), John Blackwell (Wisconsin), Jaden Bradley (Arizona), Markus Burton (Notre Dame), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Alex Condon (Florida), Ryan Conwell (Louisville), Donovan Dent (UCLA), Tucker DeVries (Indiana), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s), Mason Falslev (Utah State), Boogie Fland (Florida), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee), PJ Haggerty (Kansas State), Thomas Haugh (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (St. John’s), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Tomislav Ivišić (Illinois), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Alex Karaban (UConn), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), Nick Martinelli (Northwestern), Mark Mitchell (Missouri), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), Labaron Philon (Alabama), Tarris Reed Jr. (UConn), Richie Saunders (BYU), Emanuel Sharp (Houston), Jackson Shelstad (Oregon), Braden Smith (Purdue), Bennett Stirtz (Iowa), Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), JT Toppin (Texas Tech), Joseph Tugler (Houston), Milos Uzan (Houston), Darrion Williams (NC State), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

Complete Wayman Tisdale Award Preseason Watch List (25):

Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas), Nate Ament (Tennessee), Neoklis Avdalas (Virginia Tech), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Brayden Burries (Arizona), Chris Cenac Jr. (Houston), Thijs De Ridder (Virginia), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Isaiah Harwell (Houston), Shelton Henderson (Miami), CJ Ingram (Florida), Jasper Johnson (Kentucky), Nik Khamenia (Duke), Acaden Lewis (Villanova), Trey McKenney (Michigan), Kayden Mingo (Penn State), Braylon Mullins (UConn), Koa Peat (Arizona), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Meleek Thomas (Arkansas), Sadiq White Jr. (Syracuse), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor)