Popular hip hop magazine XXL posts a yearly “freshman class” of the genre’s brightest new breakout stars. It is often debated not just who is the best amongst the class itself, but the classes themselves as a whole have seen their share of rankings and debates on which year is the best, or worst, of all time.
Because college basketball naturally juxtaposes players against each other, not just on the court but also on prospect rankings and draft boards, we very rarely see any discourse on who the best Freshman class is in the history of college basketball. Well, after this year, there won’t be any more debate either, because 2025 takes the cake by a wide margin with a talented and deep group, unlike the sport has ever seen.
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Other top freshman classes:
Dec 28, 2006; Austin, TX, USA: Texas Longhorns guard (35) Kevin Durant reaches for a rebound against the Centenary Gents during the first quarter at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports Copyright © 2006 Brendan Maloney
Prior to the “one and done” era in college basketball, the best and brightest high school stars often went straight into the NBA. In fact, the concept of the “one and done” really was unexplored until the 2006 freshman class gave us Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. This dichotomy very clearly marks 2006 as the start of tracking any serious groups of freshmen. It wasn’t until 2013 that we would see another serious contender for the crown with Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Joel Embiid.
The 2016 freshman class accounted for 11 of the top 12 picks in the following summer’s NBA draft, but none were real contenders for national player of the year at the college level. 2018 may have set the bar for cultural impact, as players like Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Tyler Herro were household names. But none of those previous groups hold a candle to not only the quality, but also the quantity, of freshmen the 2025 class holds.
The current freshman class:
Jan 10, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) walks onto the floor in front of his teammates during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Coming into the 2025-2026 college basketball season, even casual fans had heard of Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa, the consensus top-two recruits in their high school class and projected top-two picks in the 2026 NBA draft. Peterson has been nothing short of spectacular while on the court this season, averaging over 21 points per game while playing through (and not playing through) injury issues with his hamstring. Meanwhile, AJ Dybantsa is filling up stat sheets and recorded his first triple-double in December.
But the class doesn’t end there. Cameron Boozer has inserted his name into the number-one pick conversation, averaging 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, all the while possessing skill and grace unbecoming of someone his size.
Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings (4) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Fertitta Center. Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
But we don’t stop there — Kingston Flemings is running the show for a top-10 Houston team. Caleb Wilson is averaging a 20-point double-double at North Carolina. Nate Ament is averaging 17 down in Knoxville at Tennessee. Koa Peat and Brayden Burries are the two leading scorers for the number one team in the nation in Arizona! And perhaps most unexpectedly of all, Keaton Wagler failed to rank inside the top-150 in his recruiting class, but has since dropped 46 in a win over Purdue and looks unstoppable for the Illini right now!
This freshman class has all of that, and I haven’t even mentioned Darius Acuff, Mikel Brown Jr., and Amari Allen, or international imports (who technically qualify) in Hannes Steinbach and Thijs De Ridder. This year’s freshman class has it all, and it will not be topped for a long time. As the great Dick Vitale would say, we’ve got some “diaper dandies.” If you’re not familiar with all of them, learn the names now before they take over your tv screen come March.
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