March Madness 2026: NCAA Tournament's top 10 freshmen headlined by Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa

The 2025-26 college basketball season has been dubbed "the year of the freshman," and for good reason. This has arguably been the best and deepest collection of talent college basketball fans have seen.

Case and point for how dominant this class is? Thirteen of the 68 teams in this year's NCAA Tournament have a freshman as their leading scorer. That is far and away the most in NCAA Tournament history, with the previous record of eight coming in 2008. Fifteen freshmen on NCAA Tournament teams are averaging at least 15 points per game.

At this point, casual fans -- who also might double as fans of tanking NBA teams -- are familiar with the "Big Three" in this class. If you're not familiar with those names, they're BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and Duke's Cameron Boozer. All three players are in the hunt to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft this summer.

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Boozer, who is the frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, is on the team that is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Boozer has a chance to potentially join Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis and Jahlil Okafor as the latest first-year player to win a national title and also lead his team in scoring. Another contender to join that list is Arizona's Brayden Burries, who plays on the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

One star freshman that won't be playing in the NCAA Tournament is North Carolina's Caleb Wilson, a projected top-five pick in the NBA Draft. Wilson suffered a thumb injury that required season-ending surgery earlier this month. The No. 6-seeded Tar Heels will have to navigate the tournament without one of the best players in the sport.

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Here are the top 10 freshmen playing in this year's NCAA Tournament.

1. Cameron Boozer | F | Duke 

2025-26 stats: 22.5 PPG | 10.2 RPG | 4.2 APG 

Boozer has been the most consistent player in college basketball. The Duke star can punish opposing teams in a variety of ways. His basketball IQ is off the charts. He routinely runs Duke's offense and is an excellent distributor while operating in the post. Although Boozer is a bruising scorer inside the paint, his best skill is his passing. There aren't many bigs at any level in basketball who can pass like Boozer. Even when somebody sends a double-team at him, most of the time, he makes the right read. 

With Duke guard Caleb Foster out for the foreseeable future, Boozer has had to operate as the primary initiator. It's not too far off from his normal role, but the offense is more on his shoulders now. There are going to be some uncomfortable conversations if Boozer leads Duke to a national title this season. If that happens, this season from Boozer might go down as the best from a one-and-done in college basketball history.

2. AJ Dybantsa | F | BYU

2025-26 stats: 25.3 PPG | 6.7 RPG | 3.8 APG 

Dybantsa has been a huge draft riser throughout the season, with plenty having him No. 1 on their personal big boards. Dybantsa is having one of the greatest scoring seasons in college basketball history by a first-year player. At 25.3 points per game, he is college basketball's leading scorer, regardless of class. Dybantsa could become the third player (joining Trae Young and Jason Conley) to lead Division I basketball in scoring as a freshman.

Ever since star guard Richie Saunders suffered a season-ending ACL tear, Dybantsa has been asked to carry more of the load on the offensive end. He has delivered and then some. BYU hasn't had a player this fun to watch since Jimmer Fredette. Dybantsa is the type of player who can single-handedly carry a team to the final weekend of the college basketball season. BYU has a tough road to the Final Four, but if any No. 6 seed is making it that far, it's BYU. And it's because for the first four games of the tournament, it will have the best player on the floor.

3. Darius Acuff Jr. | G | Arkansas

2025-26 stats: 22.9 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 6.5 APG

Acuff is the best guard in college basketball. Period. Something has to be in the water when John Calipari lands a highly-touted freshman guard because he has worked his magic once again. I wrote about Acuff earlier this month and how he has entered the conversation for the best freshman guard Calipari has coached in his career. And he has coached some good ones. MVPs, All-Stars, etc. Will Acuff reach those heights in the NBA? We will see. But he is having a historic season.

Acuff is on pace to become the first SEC player to average at least 22 points and six assists per game since Pete Maravich. Like Dybantsa, he is also the kind of player who can single-handedly carry a team to the Final Four. Guards win games in March, so it's logical to think that Acuff can lead the Razorbacks on a run. Arkansas has a matchup with Hawaii in the first round. The Rainbow Warriors tend not to play help defense, which should allow Acuff to get his game off. He is a nightmare to guard one-on-one. He might go for 35 points against Hawaii. Good luck to whoever has to guard him.

4. Darryn Peterson | G | Kansas

2025-26 stats: 19.8 PPG | 4.4 RPG | 1.7 APG

Peterson has been the most talked-about player in college basketball this season. Everyone seems to have an opinion on him, from those who have watched every second of his time at Kansas to those who watch YouTube clips or read about the discourse on social media. Although Peterson is ranked No. 4 here -- and that's partly because he has only played in 22 games due to cramping and hamstring issues -- I still believe he's the best player in the class. If the draft were tomorrow, I would take Peterson at 1.

The player scouts and fans saw play at Prolific Prep last year isn't the same player they have seen at Kansas. Peterson has clearly been limited and not at 100%. If Peterson is healthy, Kansas will be a dangerous out. There have been times this season when Peterson has looked unstoppable, such as the first half against BYU. There have been other times -- ironically, like the second half against BYU when he played just three minutes -- when he hasn't been available. The good news is Peterson's minutes have seen an uptick lately. He has played in nine consecutive games heading into the tournament.

5. Kingston Flemings | G | Houston

2025-26 stats: 16.3 PPG | 3.9RPG | 5.3 APG

Part of what makes Houston such an intriguing national title pick is that this roster, on paper, is better than the team that was one possession away from beating Florida in the title game a year ago. The Cougars are deep with veterans on the roster who have been there and done that. Houston also has a collection of freshmen talent that is among the best in the sport.

The key to a title run for the Cougars will be the play of Flemings. He leads Houston in points and assists. Flemings has drawn some comparisons to San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox. They are both elite at getting to their spots in the mid-range.

6. Brayden Burries | G | Arizona

2025-26 stats: 15.9 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 2.5 APG 

Jaden Bradley might've been named Big 12 Player of the Year, and no disrespect to him because he is an incredible player, but if you asked me who the Wildcats' best player is, I would say Burries. Not only that, but he is also the Wildcats' best draft prospect on the roster who could go in the top 10 this summer because of how well he's played down the stretch.

Burries started slowly during the first few weeks of the season. Since then, Burries has been incredible. Arizona isn't a great 3-point shooting team, but Burries is by far its best threat from beyond the arc. He is knocking down 36.7% of his 4.4 attempts per night. The Wildcats are a popular national title pick. If Arizona is going to get to the Final Four for the first time since 2001, Burries will be a big reason why.

7. Keaton Wagler | G | Illinois

2025-26 stats: 17.9 PPG | 4.8 RPG | 4.4 APG 

Wagler has been one of the best stories in college basketball. He was the No. 150-ranked recruit in the 2025 recruiting class in the 247Sports rankings. Illinois added a strong collection of newcomers from the portal and high school recruiting last offseason, and despite that, Wagler has emerged as its best player.

Only five true freshmen from the Big Ten have averaged at least 17 points, four rebounds and four assists: Magic Johnson (Michigan State), Jalen Rose (Michigan), D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State), Dylan Harper (Rutgers) and ... Wagler.

8. Mikel Brown Jr. | G | Louisville

2025-26 stats: 18.2 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 4.7 APG

The status of Brown will be a major storyline ahead of Louisville's clash with South Florida in the first round. Brown missed the final two games of the regular season and the ACC Tournament due to a back injury. Brown, who entered college basketball as one of the most highly touted players in the sport, has been limited to just 21 games this season.

When he's healthy, Brown has shown why he could be the first point guard taken in this summer's NBA Draft. His calling card coming out of high school was his 3-point shooting. He is shooting 34.4% from the 3-point line on 7.6 attempts per game. The game scouts will be watching that showcases his potential as a shooter at the next level is Louisville's win over NC State last month, when he knocked down 10 of 16 attempts from the 3-point line and finished with 45 points. Without Brown on the floor, Louisville's ceiling in March is much lower.

9. Nate Ament | F | Tennessee

2025-26 stats: 17.5 PPG | 6.6 PG | 2.5 APG

One of Ament's best skills is his ability to draw contact and get to the free-throw line. The Tennessee star is averaging close to 7.5 free-throw attempts per game, which ranks only behind Dybantsa and Wilson in his class.

The best way to describe Ament's season is a mixed bag. There have been flashes of why he was a top-five-ranked player coming out of high school, but there are times -- mostly earlier in the season -- where Ament struggled against better competition. One of his best performances of the year came against Auburn in the SEC Tournament, when he finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists while shooting 4 of 6 from the 3-point line.

10. Koa Peat | F | Arizona

2025-26 stats: 13.6 PPG | 5.3 RPG | 2.7 APG 

Peat had arguably the best debut of any player in his class over four months ago against the reigning national champions. Peat finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists during an upset win over Florida.

The duo of Peat and Burries is one of the best in the sport. As a team, Arizona is getting 43 points per game from first-year players, which ranks ahead of Duke for the No. 1 spot. Arizona is the fourth No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to have both of its top-two scorers be freshmen. The others? 2009-10 Kentucky (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins), 2018-19 Duke (RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson) and last year's Duke team (Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel). Those three teams didn't win a national title. Could Arizona be the first? We will see.