Champaign, ILL.– Fighting Illini junior center Kofi Cockburn is one of 20 players named to the preseason watch list for the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I Player of the Year award, the NABC announced Thursday.

This is the latest in a string of accolades for Cockburn, a national player of the year candidate. He is an Associated Press Preseason All-America Team selection, on the watch list for the Kareem Adbul-Jabbar Center of the Year award, a preseason first-team All-America pick by Sporting News, CBS Sports, Blue Ribbon Yearbook, Athlon Sports, College Hoops Today and Dick Vitale, and Big Ten Player of the Year choice by conference media, The Athletic, Blue Ribbon and Lindy's.

Preseason Watch List – 2022 NABC Div. I Player of the Year
Max Abmas, Oral Roberts (Jr. – G)
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas (Sr. – G)
Paolo Banchero, Duke (Fr. – F)
Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse (Sr. – G)
Marcus Carr, Texas (Sr. – G)
Julian Champagnie, St. John's (Jr. – G/F)
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois (Jr. – C)
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (So. – C)
Collin Gillespie, Villanova (Grad. – G)
Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (Fr. – C)
Jaden Ivey, Purdue (So. – G)
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Jr. – F)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Jr. – G/F)
Johnny Juzang, UCLA (Jr. – G)
E.J. Liddell, Ohio State (Jr. – F)
Remy Martin, Kansas (Sr. – G)
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt (Jr. – G)
Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama (Jr. – G)
Drew Timme, Gonzaga (Jr. – F)
Trevion Williams, Purdue (Sr. – F)

The NABC Division I Player of the Year will be announced during the week of the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans.

KOFI COCKBURN | 2020-21 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• NCAA Consensus Second-Team All-American
• Only player in the NCAA to average 15+ points and 9+ rebounds while shooting at least 60%
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalist
• Wooden Award All-American Team
• Second-Team All-American by Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Sporting News, CBS Sports and USA Today
• No. 7 in final kenpom.com National Player of the Year standings
• Third nationally with 16 double-doubles
• Fourth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 65.4% (214-327)
• Led the nation with 78 dunks
• Fifth in Big Ten in scoring (17.7 ppg)
• First in B1G and 24th in NCAA in rebounding (9.5 rpg)