Naismith College Player of the Year

The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors.^[1] It is named in honor of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.^[1]

Naismith College Player of the Year

Awarded for	the most outstanding male and female basketball players in NCAA Division I
Country	United States
Presented by	Atlanta Tipoff Club
History
First award	1969 (men) 1983 (women)
Most recent	Cooper Flagg, Duke (men) JuJu Watkins, USC (women)
Website	Official website

History and selection

First awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983.^[1] Annually before the college season begins in November, a "watchlist" consisting of 50 players is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors, comprising head coaches, administrators and media members from across the United States.^[1] By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance.^[1] In March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot.^[1] The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging.^[1] The winners receive the Naismith Trophy.

Three award winners, two men and one woman, were born in United States territories:

• Alfred "Butch" Lee, who was born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
• Tim Duncan and Aliyah Boston, both born in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The only award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were:

• Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia.
• Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica.
• Buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas.
• Oscar Tshiebwe, born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Zach Edey, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Six of these players were developed at least partially in the U.S. proper—Lee was raised in Harlem from early childhood; Ewing immigrated to the Boston area at age 12; Boston moved to Worcester, Massachusetts at the same age; Hield attended high school in suburban Wichita, Kansas; Tshiebwe attended high schools in southwestern Virginia and western Pennsylvania; and Edey spent his last two high school years in Florida. Duncan did not move to the U.S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, and Bogut lived in Australia until his arrival at the University of Utah.

Through 2024–25, Duke has the most male winners with nine, while UConn has the most female winners, with eleven awards won by seven individuals. The award has been won by a freshman five times: Kevin Durant (Texas, 2007), Anthony Davis (Kentucky, 2012), Zion Williamson (Duke, 2019), Paige Bueckers (UConn, 2021), and Cooper Flagg (Duke, 2025).

Key

Player (X)

Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Naismith Player of the Year Award at that point

Winners

Austin Carr, Notre Dame, 1971

Anne Donovan, Old Dominion, 1983

Butch Lee, Marquette, 1978

Cheryl Miller, USC, 1984 through 1986

Calbert Cheaney, Indiana, 1993

Jennifer Azzi, Stanford, 1990

T. J. Ford, Texas, 2003

Diana Taurasi, UConn, 2003 and 2004

Kevin Durant, Texas, 2007

Tina Charles, UConn, 2010

Jimmer Fredette, BYU, 2011

Brittney Griner, Baylor, 2012 and 2013

Zion Williamson, Duke, 2019

Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 2023 and 2024

Men Season Player School Position Class Reference 1968–69 Lew Alcindor[a] UCLA C Senior [2] 1969–70 Pete Maravich LSU PG Senior [3] 1970–71 Austin Carr Notre Dame SG Senior [4] 1971–72 Bill Walton UCLA C Sophomore [5] 1972–73 Bill Walton (2) UCLA C Junior [6] 1973–74 Bill Walton (3) UCLA C Senior [7] 1974–75 David Thompson NC State SG / SF Senior [8] 1975–76 Scott May Indiana SF Senior [9] 1976–77 Marques Johnson UCLA G / F Senior [10] 1977–78 Butch Lee Marquette PG Senior [11] 1978–79 Larry Bird Indiana State SF Senior [12] 1979–80 Mark Aguirre DePaul SF Sophomore [13] 1980–81 Ralph Sampson Virginia C Sophomore [14] 1981–82 Ralph Sampson (2) Virginia C Junior [15] 1982–83 Ralph Sampson (3) Virginia C Senior [16] 1983–84 Michael Jordan North Carolina SG Junior [17] 1984–85 Patrick Ewing Georgetown C Senior [18] 1985–86 Johnny Dawkins Duke PG Senior [19] 1986–87 David Robinson Navy C Senior [20] 1987–88 Danny Manning Kansas PF Senior [21] 1988–89 Danny Ferry Duke PF / SF Senior [22] 1989–90 Lionel Simmons La Salle SF Senior [23] 1990–91 Larry Johnson UNLV PF Senior [24] 1991–92 Christian Laettner Duke PF / C Senior [25] 1992–93 Calbert Cheaney Indiana SF Senior [26] 1993–94 Glenn Robinson Purdue SF Junior [27] 1994–95 Joe Smith Maryland PF Sophomore [28] 1995–96 Marcus Camby UMass C Junior [29] 1996–97 Tim Duncan Wake Forest C Senior [30] 1997–98 Antawn Jamison North Carolina SF Junior [31] 1998–99 Elton Brand Duke C Sophomore [32] 1999–00 Kenyon Martin Cincinnati F Senior [33] 2000–01 Shane Battier Duke PF Senior [34] 2001–02 Jason Williams Duke PG Junior [35] 2002–03 T. J. Ford Texas PG Sophomore [36] 2003–04 Jameer Nelson Saint Joseph's PG Senior [37] 2004–05 Andrew Bogut Utah C Sophomore [38] 2005–06 JJ Redick Duke SG Senior [39] 2006–07 Kevin Durant Texas SF Freshman [40] 2007–08 Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina PF Junior [41] 2008–09 Blake Griffin Oklahoma PF Sophomore [42] 2009–10 Evan Turner Ohio State SF Junior [43] 2010–11 Jimmer Fredette BYU PG / SG Senior [44] 2011–12 Anthony Davis Kentucky C Freshman [45] 2012–13 Trey Burke Michigan PG Sophomore [46] 2013–14 Doug McDermott Creighton SF Senior [47] 2014–15 Frank Kaminsky Wisconsin PF Senior [48] 2015–16 Buddy Hield Oklahoma SG Senior [49] 2016–17 Frank Mason III Kansas PG Senior [50] 2017–18 Jalen Brunson Villanova PG Junior [51] 2018–19 Zion Williamson Duke PF Freshman [52] 2019–20 Obi Toppin Dayton PF Sophomore [53] 2020–21 Luka Garza Iowa C Senior [54] 2021–22 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky C Junior [55] 2022–23 Zach Edey Purdue PF / C Junior [56] 2023–24 Zach Edey (2) Purdue C Senior [57] 2024–25 Cooper Flagg Duke SG / SF Freshman [58]

Women Season Player School Position Class Reference 1968–69 No award 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 Anne Donovan Old Dominion C Senior [59] 1983–84 Cheryl Miller USC SF Sophomore [60] 1984–85 Cheryl Miller (2) USC SF Junior [61] 1985–86 Cheryl Miller (3) USC SF Senior [62] 1986–87 Clarissa Davis Texas F Sophomore [63] 1987–88 Sue Wicks Rutgers F Senior [64] 1988–89 Clarissa Davis (2) Texas F Senior [65] 1989–90 Jennifer Azzi Stanford PG Senior [66] 1990–91 Dawn Staley Virginia PG Junior [67] 1991–92 Dawn Staley (2) Virginia PG Senior [68] 1992–93 Sheryl Swoopes Texas Tech SG / SF Senior [69] 1993–94 Lisa Leslie USC C Senior [70] 1994–95 Rebecca Lobo UConn C Senior [71] 1995–96 Saudia Roundtree Georgia G Senior [72] 1996–97 Kate Starbird Stanford SG / SF Senior [30] 1997–98 Chamique Holdsclaw Tennessee SF Junior [31] 1998–99 Chamique Holdsclaw (2) Tennessee SF Senior [73] 1999–00 Tamika Catchings Tennessee SF Junior [74] 2000–01 Ruth Riley Notre Dame C Senior [75] 2001–02 Sue Bird UConn PG Senior [35] 2002–03 Diana Taurasi UConn PG / SG Junior [36] 2003–04 Diana Taurasi (2) UConn PG / SG Senior [76] 2004–05 Seimone Augustus LSU SG / SF Junior [77] 2005–06 Seimone Augustus (2) LSU SG / SF Senior [78] 2006–07 Lindsey Harding Duke PG Senior [79] 2007–08 Candace Parker Tennessee PF Senior [80] 2008–09 Maya Moore UConn PF Sophomore [81] 2009–10 Tina Charles UConn C Senior [82] 2010–11 Maya Moore (2) UConn PF Senior [83] 2011–12 Brittney Griner Baylor C Junior [84] 2012–13 Brittney Griner (2) Baylor C Senior [85] 2013–14 Breanna Stewart UConn PF Sophomore [86] 2014–15 Breanna Stewart (2) UConn PF Junior [87] 2015–16 Breanna Stewart (3) UConn PF Senior [78] 2016–17 Kelsey Plum Washington PG Senior [88] 2017–18 A'ja Wilson South Carolina C Senior [89] 2018–19 Megan Gustafson Iowa PF / C Senior [90] 2019–20 Sabrina Ionescu Oregon PG Senior [91] 2020–21 Paige Bueckers UConn PG Freshman [92] 2021–22 Aliyah Boston South Carolina PF / C Junior [93] 2022–23 Caitlin Clark Iowa PG Junior [94] 2023–24 Caitlin Clark (2) Iowa PG Senior [95] 2024–25 JuJu Watkins USC SG Sophomore [96]

• ^a Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.^[97]

See also

• List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards