Top 100 men's NCAA basketball players going into 2025-26

The instauration of gross sharing and the detonation of name, representation and likeness person created a level of endowment not seen successful assemblage hoops successful a agelong time. Projected NBA first-rounders are returning to schoolhouse due to the fact that they tin marque important wealth portion trying to boost their draught stock; planetary pros are coming to the United States to play successful college; and the apical extremity of the 2024 and 2025 precocious schoolhouse recruiting classes were loaded.

So what is the pecking bid of elite players entering the 2025-26 men's assemblage hoops campaign?

ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf ranked the apical 100 by creating their ain lists and past deliberating a fewer twelve times to settee connected the bid below.

Heading into past season, determination was a wide statement astatine the apical betwixt Duke's Cooper Flagg and North Carolina's RJ Davis. We opted for Flagg fixed his tremendous ceiling and his imaginable to nutrient a Carmelo Anthony-esque nationalist title run. Although helium fell conscionable abbreviated of the latter, leaning toward younker was the close call.

There's a akin statement this year. Purdue's Braden Smith was a statement first-team All-American past play and is the lone subordinate of that radical to instrumentality to college. He's besides a unanimous preseason All-American starring the No. 1 squad successful the preseason AP Top 25. In astir years, that operation would marque him a shoo-in for the apical spot -- but determination is simply a tremendously talented radical of freshmen, led by BYU's A.J. Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and Duke's Cameron Boozer. Throw successful the second-half signifier of Texas Tech guardant JT Toppin, and there's a existent discussion.

So who landed astatine No. 1? Let's commencement astatine the bottom.

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100-76 | 75-51 | 50-26 | 25-6 | 5-1

100. Devin Royal

Ohio State Buckeyes | F | Jr.

Royal edges retired Xzayvier Brown for the last spot successful the 100. Royal, a 6-foot-6 forward, averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds past season, showing the quality to rack up breakout performances: 29 points vs. Illinois, 31 points and 15 boards vs. Valparaiso, and 26 points vs. Michigan. If Royal tin nutrient outings similar that much consistently, Ohio State volition apt instrumentality the adjacent measurement and beryllium a existent menace to triumph NCAA tourney games.

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