"When we ranked the top 100 players heading into the 2025-26 men's college basketball season, we made a point to take the incoming freshman class seriously. For years, college coaches and NBA scouts had pinpointed this group of first-year players as transcendent, and we wanted to weigh that accordingly. And despite having three freshmen in our top six and 12 in our top 100, we were not even close to correctly valuing the class. We're making up for that oversight in our midseason rankings."
"What follows is not purely a ranking of the best players in men's college basketball; it's a ranking of players performing the best this season -- with a little wiggle room to factor in what we're projecting moving forward. Consider this essentially a 50-man All-America team. That's why you won't see some players who were ranked highly coming into the campaign but have since taken a step back in production, such as UCLA's Donovan Dent, NC State's Darrion Williams and Florida's Alex Condon."
Preseason evaluations underestimated the incoming freshman class, prompting an updated midseason reassessment. Thirteen freshmen now rank among the top 50 players, including three inside the top four and seven inside the top 15. Rankings prioritize current performance with modest consideration for future projection. Several preseason high-ranked players declined in production and were excluded. The top two spots remain clear and uncontested. ESPN evaluators Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf reached consensus by merging individual lists and adjusting combined order. Player availability and recent injuries factor into placements, with returning freshmen showing significant impact upon returning from injury.
Read at ESPN.com
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