The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

History and selection First awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983. Annually before the college season begins in November, a "watchlist" consisting of 50 players is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors, comprising head coaches, administrators and media members from across the United States. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance. In March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging. The winners receive the Naismith Trophy.

Three award winners, two men and one woman, were born in United States territories: Alfred "Butch" Lee, who was born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Tim Duncan and Aliyah Boston, both born in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The only award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were: Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia. Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica. Buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas. Oscar Tshiebwe, born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zach Edey, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sarah Strong, born in Madrid, Spain Six of these players were developed at least partially in the U.S. proper—Lee was raised in Harlem from early childhood; Ewing immigrated to the Boston area at age 12; Boston moved to Worcester, Massachusetts at the same age; Hield attended high school in suburban Wichita, Kansas; Tshiebwe attended high schools in southwestern Virginia and western Pennsylvania; and Edey spent his last two high school years in Florida. Duncan did not move to the U.S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, and Bogut lived in Australia until his arrival at the University of Utah.

Through 2025–26, Duke has the most male winners with 10, while UConn has the most female winners, with twelve awards won by eight individuals. The award has been won by a freshman six times: Kevin Durant (Texas, 2007), Anthony Davis (Kentucky, 2012), Zion Williamson (Duke, 2019), Paige Bueckers (UConn, 2021), Cooper Flagg (Duke, 2025), and Cameron Boozer (Duke, 2026).

Key Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Naismith Player of the Year Award at that point

Winners

+ Men Season Player School Position Class Reference 1968–69 UCLA C 1969–70 LSU PG 1970–71 Notre Dame SG 1971–72 UCLA C 1972–73 (2) UCLA C 1973–74 (3) UCLA C 1974–75 SG / SF 1975–76 Indiana SF 1976–77 UCLA G / F 1977–78 Marquette PG 1978–79 Indiana State SF 1979–80 DePaul SF 1980–81 Virginia C 1981–82 (2) Virginia C 1982–83 (3) Virginia C 1983–84 North Carolina SG 1984–85 Georgetown C 1985–86 Duke PG 1986–87 Navy C 1987–88 Kansas PF 1988–89 Duke PF / SF 1989–90 La Salle SF 1990–91 UNLV PF 1991–92 Duke PF / C 1992–93 Indiana SF 1993–94 Purdue SF 1994–95 Maryland PF 1995–96 UMass C 1996–97 Wake Forest C 1997–98 North Carolina SF 1998–99 Duke C 1999–00 Cincinnati F 2000–01 Duke PF 2001–02 Duke PG 2002–03 Texas PG 2003–04 Saint Joseph's PG 2004–05 Utah C 2005–06 Duke SG 2006–07 Texas SF 2007–08 North Carolina PF 2008–09 Oklahoma PF 2009–10 Ohio State SF 2010–11 BYU PG / SG 2011–12 Kentucky C 2012–13 Michigan PG 2013–14 Creighton SF 2014–15 Wisconsin PF 2015–16 Oklahoma SG 2016–17 Kansas PG 2017–18 Villanova PG 2018–19 Duke PF 2019–20 Dayton PF 2020–21 Iowa C 2021–22 Kentucky C 2022–23 Purdue C 2023–24 (2) Purdue C 2024–25 Duke SG / SF 2025–26 Duke PF + Women Season Player School Position Class Reference 1968–69 No award 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 Old Dominion C 1983–84 USC SF 1984–85 (2) SF 1985–86 (3) USC SF 1986–87 Texas F 1987–88 F 1988–89 (2) F 1989–90 Stanford PG 1990–91 Virginia PG 1991–92 (2) Virginia PG 1992–93 Texas Tech SG / SF 1993–94 C 1994–95 UConn C 1995–96 Georgia G 1996–97 Stanford SG / SF 1997–98 Tennessee SF 1998–99 (2) SF 1999–00 Tennessee SF 2000–01 Notre Dame C 2001–02 UConn PG 2002–03 UConn PG / SG 2003–04 (2) UConn PG / SG 2004–05 LSU SG / SF 2005–06 (2) LSU SG / SF 2006–07 PG 2007–08 Tennessee PF 2008–09 UConn PF 2009–10 UConn C 2010–11 (2) UConn PF 2011–12 Baylor C 2012–13 (2) Baylor C 2013–14 UConn PF 2014–15 (2) UConn PF 2015–16 (3) UConn PF 2016–17 Washington PG 2017–18 South Carolina C 2018–19 Iowa PF / C 2019–20 Oregon PG 2020–21 UConn PG 2021–22 South Carolina PF / C 2022–23 Iowa PG 2023–24 (2) Iowa PG 2024–25 USC SG 2025–26 UConn SF Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.

See also List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards Naismith College Coach of the Year

References

External links