NATIONWIDE — The John R. Wooden Award announced its five men's college basketball finalists for 2026: Darius Acuff Jr., Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Braden Smith. The award also unveiled its 10-member Wooden All-America team, which includes the five finalists along with Jeremy Fears Jr., Kingston Flemings, Joshua Jefferson, JT Toppin, and Keaton Wagler.

Acuff, named SEC Player of the Year, averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game, leading the Southeastern Conference in both categories. He was the first SEC player to lead the conference in both points and assists per game since Pete Maravich in the 1969-70 season. Acuff recorded 26 games with at least 20 points, the fourth most by a Division I freshman in the past 20 seasons.

Boozer, the ACC Player of the Year, averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 39.1% from three-point range. He recorded double-doubles in 22 of his 38 games.

BYU's Dybantsa led the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game. He scored 20 or more points in 28 games, the second most by a Division I freshman in the past 20 seasons — two fewer than Kevin Durant's 30 such games in the 2006-07 season.

Lendeborg led the Michigan Wolverines in scoring with 15.2 points per game as Michigan qualified for the NCAA tournament Final Four. Smith, a senior, finished second nationally in assists at 8.8 per game and broke Bobby Hurley's NCAA career assists record, finishing with 1,932 career assists.

Among the additional All-America selections, Fears led the nation in assists with 9.4 per game and recorded three games with at least 15 assists, the most such games in Michigan State program history. Flemings averaged 16.1 points and 5.2 assists per game for the Houston Cougars.

Jefferson posted career highs of 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game for Iowa State but missed the Cyclones' last two NCAA tournament games with a sprained ankle. Wagler averaged 17.9 points and 4.3 assists per game for the Illinois Fighting Illini, who qualified for the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Toppin averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game for the Texas Tech Red Raiders before suffering an ACL tear in mid-February that ended his season.