Men’s Player of the Year Ladder: JT Toppin Moves Up, Keaton Wagler In the Mix

When you drop 31 points and grab 13 rebounds in an overtime win against the No. 1-ranked team in the country, chances are you are going to make a big jump on the ladder. That’s the case for Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, who put together one of the top individual performances of the 2025-26 college basketball season up to this point. Toppin’s big-time performance, coupled with an unfortunate injury to North Carolina freshman standout Caleb Wilson, led to some reshuffling in the third edition of my men’s college basketball Player of the Year Ladder. Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson is off the list for the first time this season after missing the Jayhawks’ 82-78 win over Arizona, and then producing a 10-point, zero-rebound, zero-assist showing in a loss to Iowa State. But with that comes opportunity for others, as we welcome a pair of freshman point guards to the list.With that context in mind, here’s how this week’s men’s Player of the Year Ladder shakes out. Honorable mention: Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd, Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson, St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz 10. Keaton Wagler, Illinois freshman guard Wagler is one of five freshmen included in this week’s Player of the Year Ladder. His rise from a three-star recruit to Illinois’ best player has been so fun to watch. His scoring has slowed down a bit after his memorable 46-point outing at Purdue three weeks ago, but his entire body of work has earned him a seat at this table. 9. Kingston Flemings, Houston freshman guard Flemings probably should have been included on this list last week. He’s a freshman who joined a senior-laden backcourt with Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, but he has taken control of this Houston offense, which I didn’t think would be possible. He has also played himself into a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft. 8. Braden Smith, Purdue senior guard I give point guards more credit than other positions. Smith entered this season with massive expectations, and, for the most part, he has delivered. Purdue owns the No. 3-ranked offense in the country, per KenPom, and Smith is the leader. The standout senior guard is also shooting a career-high 48% from the field. 7. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State sophomore guard I still haven’t come back down from his incredible performance against Illinois last week (26 points and 15 assists). Michigan State would be average at best without Fears. His scoring has surprised me most this year. 6. Darius Acuff, Arkansas freshman guard If you haven’t watched Arkansas play this season, go on YouTube right now and catch some highlights. There you will find Acuff, the best scoring point guard in the country. He is special and he brings it every game. 5. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan senior forward Here comes Lendeborg down the final stretch of Big Ten play! Michigan is so talented and deep that Lendeborg can’t put up the same scoring numbers as Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, but he’s nearly as good as those guys — and he’s better defensively. 4. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State senior forward When you watch Jefferson play, his athleticism doesn’t jump off the page, and he’s not nearly as big of a scorer as some of the others on this list, but he is the MVP of Iowa State on both ends of the floor. 3. JT Toppin, Texas Tech junior forward Toppin’s performance against Arizona’s stellar frontline was as impressive as anything he’s done all year. He had 31 points, 13 rebounds and came up big down the stretch in Texas Tech’s overtime win. That performance will likely keep him in the top three of my list for the rest of the season. 2. AJ Dybantsa, BYU freshman forward Dybantsa is averaging 29 points per game in the month of February. BYU’s team hasn’t been very good, but it’s not because Dybantsa hasn’t lived up to the hype. His teammate, Richie Saunders, tore his ACL on Saturday, which will put more on Dybantsa’s shoulders. 1. Cameron Boozer, Duke freshman forward No one is asked to do more for their team than Boozer. He had impossible shoes to fill, following Cooper Flagg, but he has mostly filled them. Boozer is the most consistent playmaker and rebounder on this talented list of players.