Broome, Flagg featured on Wooden Award top 25
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Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer
Auburn’s Johni Broome and Duke’s Cooper Flagg anchor the Wooden Award midseason top-25 list — released Tuesday — that features the favorites to win the prestigious honor at the end of the season.
Broome (18.6 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.7 BPG), who has led Auburn to a 13-1 record, and Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, have been discussed as the favorites for the award throughout the season.
But the midseason top-25 list also features multiple key players who have made a case for inclusion. Kam Jones, a star at Marquette, is clearly one of the best players in the country right now. Kansas standout Hunter Dickinson, an All-American center a year ago, has improved in multiple areas this season.
And two transfers from the Volunteer State have also played their way onto the list. Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier and Memphis’ PJ Haggerty have both led their respective teams to surprising starts in 2024-25.
Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen are the other freshmen, along with Flagg, who made the list.
But a few talented players missed the cut.
West Virginia’s Javon Small (19.5 PPG), Michigan’s Danny Wolf (12.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.7 BPG) and St. John’s standout RJ Luis Jr. (16.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG) have all had strong campaigns for teams with NCAA tournament aspirations.
While the mideason list is an important snapshot of the Wooden Award race, it is not final. The players who were not included on the midseason list can still make the final ballot.
During the 2012-13 season, Victor Oladipo — then, an Indiana star — did not make the midseason list but finished second in the final vote to Michigan’s Trey Burke that year.
The complete Wooden Award Midseason Top 25:
AC Bailey, Rutgers
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
RJ Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Tre Johnson, Texas
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalbrenner, Creighton
Alex Karaban, UConn
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Derik Queen, Maryland
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
