Naismith Trophy Mid-Season Finalists Announced

Who is the best player in college basketball? There are a number of worthy candidates this year, and on Thursday afternoon, the list of players from which the nation’s best player will be chosen was trimmed to 35.

The Naismith College Player of the Year award, given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top player in America, released its list of midseason finalists for its 2016 trophy.

The list is composed exclusively of players in DI, and it will be trimmed down a few more times. It will be cut to 10 on March 2 before being cut to four on March 20. The winner will be announced at the Final Four in April.

Here is the list of mid-season finalists:

• AJ Hommons, Purdue

• Anthony Barber, NC State

• Ben Bentil, Providence

• Ben Simmons, LSU

• Brandon Ingram, Duke

• Brice Johnson, UNC

• Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

• Damion Lee, Louisville

• Demitrius Jackson, Notre Dame

• Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

• Dillon Brooks, Oregon

• Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

• Fred VanVleet, Wichita State

• Gary Payton II, Oregon State

• Georges Niang, Iowa State

• Grayson Allen, Duke

• Jakob Poeltl, Utah

• Jalen Jones, Texas A&M

• Jamal Murray, Kentucky

• Jameel Warney, Stony Brook

• Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa

• Josh Hart, Villanova

• Kay Felder, Okland

• Kris Dunn, Providence

• Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga

• Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia

• Melo Trimble, Maryland

• Monte Morris, Iowa State

• Nic Moore, SMU

• Perry Ellis, Kansas

• Sheldon McClellan, Miami (FL)

• Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

• Tyler Ullis, Kentucky

• Wayne Selden, Kansas

• Yogi Ferrell, Indiana