Last weekend was historic for college basketball freshmen. The theme of this season has been how good this 2025 recruiting class has been, and Saturday was no different. Three different first-year players scored at least 40 points. That had never happened until last weekend.
Illinois guard Keaton Wagler scored 46 points in a win on the road over Purdue. AJ Dybantsa broke Danny Ainge’s record for the most points scored (43) in a single game by a BYU player. Houston guard Kingston Flemings went for 42 points in a loss to Texas Tech.
Earlier that day, Duke forward Cameron Boozer — the current frontrunner for National Player of the Year — finished with 32 points and nine rebounds in a blowout win over Wake Forest. Trying to pick a winner for Freshman of the Week was a tall task — like it’s been most weeks — because of how special this class has been.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Houston’s Kingston Flemings are stars on historic day for freshmen
Isaac Trotter
Sit back and enjoy it, because it might be a long time before we see something like this again.
Let’s jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Freshman of the Week: Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the ten most impressive freshmen in college basketball. For the 11th season in a row, CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week, we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.
Wagler, the former No. 150 overall player in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, has been one of the best first-year players in the sport. The Illinois guard had his breakout performance on the road against Purdue by dropping 46 points in a massive win for his team. Wagler is someone who has improved his draft stock lately and could very well be a lottery pick this summer.
“I thought Keaton was like nothing I’ve seen in my 39-years, especially in a top-5 or top-10 matchup,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after the game. “Keaton really made it look easy. He just took what the defense gave him.”
Previous Freshman of the Week winners
- Nov. 11: Koa Peat, Arizona
- Nov. 18: Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville
- Nov. 25: Cameron Boozer, Duke
- Dec. 2: Cameron Boozer, Duke
- Dec. 9: Hannes Steinbach, Washington
- Dec. 16: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
- Dec. 23: Shelton Henderson, Miami
- Dec. 30: Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
- Jan. 6: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
- Jan. 13: Braylon Mullins, UConn
- Jan. 20: Cameron Boozer, Duke
Frosh Watch: Ranking top 10 freshmen
1. Cameron Boozer | F | Duke
Stats: 23.2 PPG | 9.9 RPG | 4.1 APG
Boozer recorded his 10th double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) during a blowout win over Louisville on Monday. Boozer, the current favorite to win National Player of the Year, is tied for 14th among all Division I players in that stat. Boozer also scored 32 points during a blowout win over Wake Forest last week. Last week: 1
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2. AJ Dybantsa | F | BYU
Stats: 23.6 PPG | 6.8 RPG | 3.5 APG
Dybantsa scored a career-high 43 points in a win over Utah last weekend. The BYU star finished with 24 points, five assists and four rebounds during a loss against No. 1 Arizona on Monday. A matchup against Kansas and Peterson looms later this week. Last week: 2
3. Darryn Peterson | G | Kansas
Stats: 21.6 PPG | 4.6 RPG | 1.9 APG
Peterson was ruled out of Kansas’ game last week against Kansas State due to an ankle injury suffered against Colorado. Peterson played against the Buffaloes last week and finished with 16 points in 32 minutes. Peterson and Kansas have a massive showdown against BYU and Dybantsa this weekend. Last week: 3
4. Caleb Wilson | F | North Carolina
Stats: 19.9 PPG | 10.1 RPG | 2.8 APG
Wilson is having one of the best seasons by a first-year player in UNC history. Wilson currently leads the Tar Heels in scoring, rebounding, offensive rebounds, steals, free throws (made and attempted) and blocks. Wilson is second in assists (six off the lead) and field goal percentage. He finished with 20 points in a comeback win over Virginia last weekend. Last week: 4
5. Kingston Flemings | G | Houston
Stats: 17.0 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 5.4 APG
If Wagler didn’t go for 46 points on the road against Purdue, Flemings would’ve had a pretty clear case for Frosh of the Week. The Houston star had one of the most impressive performances by a guard this season after going for 42 points against a tough Texas Tech squad. Flemings is making a strong case to be a top 10 pick this summer. Last week: 6
6. Darius Acuff Jr. | G | Arkansas
Stats: 20.2 PPG | 2.9 RPG | 6.2 APG
Acuff has been the best freshman in the SEC. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season after recording 31 points and six assists against LSU. Earlier in the week, Acuff scored 17 points against Vanderbilt. Arkansas is 5-2 in SEC play, which is tied for the second-best record behind Texas A&M. Last week: 5
7. Ebuka Okorie | G | Stanford
Stats: 21.7 PPG | 3.5 RPG | 3.2 APG
Okorie ranks 11th among all qualified Division I players (21.7 points per game) in scoring. However, He is coming off back-to-back games with less than 15 points. In a 78-66 loss to Cal, Okorie finished with 14 points and three assists in 31 minutes. Stanford faces Miami next. Last week: 7
8. Keaton Wagler | G | Illinois
Stats: 17.0 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 4.0 APG
Wagler has entered the rankings after having one of the best individual performances by a first-year player in recent memory. Wagler has had an extremely productive season for the Fighting Illini and should be one of the top candidates for Big Ten Freshman of the Year. If Wagler plays like he did against Purdue, it just raises the ceiling of what his team can accomplish the rest of the way. Last week: NR
9. Brayden Burries | G | Arizona
Stats: 14.6 PPG | 4.4 RPG | 2.8 APG
Burries was clutch in Arizona’s dramatic win over BYU on Monday night. Burries made a game-sealing defensive stop in the final seconds, which allowed the Wildcats to improve to 21-0. He also finished with a career-high 29 points and added five rebounds and four assists in the victory. Last week: 10
10. Hannes Steinbach | F | Washington
Stats: 17.7 PPG | 11.1 RPG | 1.7 APG
Steinbach recorded another double-double in a win over Oregon last weekend. The Washington big man finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds during the 72-57 win over the Ducks. Steinbach now has 12 double-doubles in 17 games, which is tied for fifth among all Division I players. He also ranks first among freshmen in that category. Last week: 9
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