Freshman Focus: Ranking the Top 10 College Basketball Classes for 2025

Updated –Sep 8, 2025

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Winning in college basketball almost always necessitates a strong cavalry of experienced veterans. Freshmen-led teams don’t often make deep NCAA Tournament runs, but some elite teams, like last year’s Duke, rely on freshmen. In 2025-26, impact freshmen classes will inevitably shape the season for some teams.

Let’s rank the top 10 incoming freshmen classes for the upcoming college season, including international newcomers, as we did for the best incoming backcourts. This list won’t consider the long-term potential for the groups, rather, their ability to impact winning this season. We’ll finish with some honorable mentions, but it’s time to dive into the top 10.

10. SMU Mustangs

Jaden Toombs, Jermaine O’Neal Jr., Nigel Walls, Billy White III

Toombs, a consensus four-star prospect, is one of the country’s most underrated players with easier paths to freshman contribution than many five-star players. He’s a polished offensive center with the intermediate touch, ball skills and physicality to dominate the college level, and his questionable foot speed won’t damage his defense as much as they would in the NBA.

His high school teammate, Jermaine O’Neal Jr., brings shotmaking, secondary handling and solid defense on the wing. Walls and White III both offer various strengths on the wing, notably Walls’s secondary rim protection and White III’s off-ball shotmaking.

9. Miami Hurricanes

Shelton Henderson, Dante Allen, Treyvon Maddox, Timotej Malovec

New head coach Jai Lucas will begin his college coaching career one of the nation’s most underrated incoming classes. Shelton Henderson dominated his final AAU season as a versatile slashing wing with the passing and defensive chops to thrive in college. Dante Allen was critical for Cam and Cayden Boozer’s EYBL success, bringing deep-range shotmaking, on-ball creation and great defense to the college game.

Those two players are Miami’s feature freshmen newcomers, but the Hurricanes have quite a few more prospects vying for playing time this season on a new-look team. Athletic wing Treyvon Maddox and shotmaking international add Timotej Malovec could help round out Miami’s rotation this season.

8. Washington Huskies

Hannes Steinbach, Courtland Muldrew, JJ Mandaquit, Jasir Rencher

After thriving in the German first division and dominating the FIBA U19 World Cup for Germany, Steinbach looks poised to break out in college. His truly special combination of strength, coordination and touch offers scary scoring potential. He’s a bit of a tweener as a four without great shot blocking or floor spacing, but that’s much less concerning at the college level.

A few underrated freshmen guards, notably JJ Mandaquit and Courtland Muldrew, could carve early roles for the Huskies. Mandaquit especially has experience as a game managing, pesky defensive point guard next to elite talent, but the Huskies this season may go as far as Steinbach can take them.

7. BYU Cougars

AJ Dybantsa, Xavion Staton, Chamberlain Burgess

Consensus top-three prospect AJ Dybantsa is the centerpiece and only projected impact starter for the Cougars this season. He’s a potent enough offensive player to cement BYU on this list by himself, though. Dybantsa’s incredible shotmaking, explosiveness and advantage creation should mesh dangerously well with Kevin Young’s NBA spacing.

Both Staton and Burgess aren’t currently projected for major roles as freshmen. Staton brings plenty of athletic upside as a shot blocker and play finisher but needs plenty of work physically and mentally, and Burgess could add some defensive value as he finds some footing in the college game.

6. Arkansas Razorbacks

Darius Acuff, Meleek Thomas, Paulo Semedo

Acuff and Thomas form the highest-profile incoming freshman backcourt duo in the nation, both primed for key roles for John Calipari this season. They’ll both have to battle with junior guard DJ Wagner for minutes and on-ball time, but both freshmen guards are versatile and skilled. Both Acuff and Thomas might lack some traits of full-time point guards, but neither will have to take on that responsibility in full.

Paulo Semedo is a sleeper to add some two-way excitement; the 7’1 center flashes some rare coordination with the basketball alongside the rim-running and shot blocking one may expect from him. He’ll have to play his way onto the court next to or in front of a few established bigs, but he’s certainly talented enough to carve a role.

5. Houston Cougars

Isiah Harwell, Chris Cenac Jr., Kingston Flemings

Houston’s rookie class has an argument as the most stacked in a vacuum, featuring three consensus five-star players. Harwell’s path to early impact is clearest, as his strength, shotmaking and on-ball defensive chops should allow him to easily slot in as an off-ball wing next to Houston’s more established players.

Cenac Jr., the most highly touted prospect of the bunch, projects to start for the Cougars next to Joseph Tugler, but he’s an incredibly raw player, especially on offense. Kingston Flemings also has the explosive athleticism and passing talent to impact the game early, but he must compete for minutes with Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, muddying his path to early playing time.

4. UConn Huskies

Braylon Mullins, Eric Reibe, Jacob Furphy

It’s easy to imagine the through line from Liam McNeeley to five-star wing Braylon Mullins, who will bring elite off-ball shooting to the Huskies. His skillset, like many off-ball wings, should fit Dan Hurley’s system smoothly, especially considering his great cutting and playmaking once defenses run him off of the line.

Reibe and Furphy both recently starred for their countries at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Reibe’s ball skills and touch are incredibly unique for a center, opening creative avenues for offensive deployment. Buy Furphy’s poised on-ball creation, versatile shooting and passing should endear him to Hurley, possibly resulting in an early contributing role.

3. Kansas Jayhawks

Darryn Peterson, Kohl Rosario, Samis Calderon, Bryson Tiller

The Jayhawks won’t rank this highly on most recruiting boards, but 2026’s top prospect, Darryn Peterson, will bring the same winning impact as multiple average five-star freshmen. Peterson’s elite shot creation, versatile scoring and often maniacal defensive play make him an easy National Player of the Year bet for a Kansas team without a ton of established offensive punch.

Bill Self could find minutes from some lower-profile freshmen, notably high-rising wing Kohl Rosario. His exceptional open floor athleticism and outside shooting make him an obvious complementary wing partner for Peterson. Tiller enrolled early and that experience could help him find earlier minutes in 2025, though his path to contribution is easier to see in the coming years.

2. Arizona Wildcats

Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, Dwayne Aristode, Ivan Kharchenkov, Sidi Gueye

Two consensus five-star freshmen, Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, captain Arizona’s group of newcomers. I’m a bit lower than consensus on the NBA prospects of both, but they should contribute immediately at the college level. Peat is a versatile, two-way scoring forward and Burries’s shotmaking, size and defensive chops should help him acquaint smoothly to the college level.

As head coach Tommy Lloyd has done, the Wildcats received key help from some high-profile international prospects. Kharchenkov brings ball skills and defensive energy on the wing and Gueye has immense potential as a shot-blocking, rim-running center. Four-star wing Dwayne Aristode could also contribute early with his 3-and-D skillset.

1. Duke Blue Devils

Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia, Dame Sarr, Sebastian Wilkins

For the second straight season, Duke enters the season with the strongest freshman class. The 2025-26 edition will have plenty to live up to after Cooper Flagg led the Blue Devils to the Final Four as a freshman. But Cameron and Cayden Boozer have won at every level and for good reason. Cameron is a dominant scorer and Cayden is an excellent facilitator, but both players boast the feel, skill and adaptability to thrive at the college level.

Khamenia, despite being projected as a power forward, is one of the better passers in his class. Sarr is a highly touted international prospect as another long, lanky wing with impressive athleticism and burgeoning live dribble prowess. While high-profile returners like Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba will play key roles for Duke this season, the freshman class will drive their push for a second straight deep NCAA tournament run.