2025-2026 NCAA National Player of the Year Rankings—Dec.30

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The semester break slowed the college hoops world considerably over the last few weeks, but things are starting to heat up, with conference play either opening or just around the corner across the NCAA Division I landscape.  Much has changed since the last ladder on Dec. 9, and a race that was once trending toward a landslide is now entirely interesting once again.

1. Cameron Boozer, Duke

Previous Ranking: 1

When the last edition of this ladder came out a few weeks ago, it seemed like Cameron Boozer was going to run away with this thing.  As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast!” Boozer and the Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season to Texas Tech on Dec. 20, despite an efficient 23 points from the freshman.

The problem for Boozer is that Duke has played just twice in the last three weeks, while BYU’s AJ Dybantsa has played four times and impressed mightily in each. More on Dybantsa below.

2. AJ Dybantsa, BYU

Previous Ranking: Outside the top five

AJ Dybantsa, BYU
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

Dybantsa hadn’t even debuted on the NCAA NPOY ladder three weeks ago. Now it seems like he could be on a collision course to surpass Boozer in the rankings as conference play starts to open up across college basketball. Dybantsa has been incredible in his last two outings, scoring 35 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Abilene Christian before tallying a 33-point triple-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington.

Boozer still ranks first nationally with 23.3 points per game, but Dybantsa’s recent stretch has him trailing just behind in second at 23.1 points per game.

3. JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Previous Ranking: 4

JT Toppin has been such a consistent presence in college hoops the last three seasons that you almost start to take his production for granted, but what he’s done for Texas Tech again this season is simply something that can’t be ignored. He ranks 17th nationally in scoring with 21 points per game and 11th with 10.1 rebounds per game, all while leading his Red Raiders to a 10-3 start with all three losses against ranked opponents.

Toppin also got one up on his fellow NPOY candidate Boozer with that aforementioned Texas Tech win over Duke last weekend.

4. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State

Previous Ranking: 5

Joshua Jefferson has been a surprising mainstay on this ladder throughout the first few months of the season, serving as the steadying force for an Iowa State team that’s now ranked third nationally with an unbeaten 13-0 record in non-conference play.

Jefferson leads the Cyclones with 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and his five assists per game rank second behind his teammate and preseason Wooden Award candidate Tamin Lipsey.

5. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

Previous Ranking: 2

Yaxel Lendeborg was camped out in the No. 2 spot in the first two editions of the ladder, but he hasn’t quite had the game-by-game production to remain ahead of the names listed above him. Still, Lendeborg is the best player on a team that may very well go down amongst the best that we’ve seen in the modern era of college basketball if they continue to go the way they’re going.

You already know Lendeborg is going to put together some insane highlights in Big 10 conference play, but we’ll see if his consistency can stack up to his counterparts.

Stay tuned for next week’s NCAA NPOY rankings!





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