Naismith Starting Five Award Winners
INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday, during ESPN's College GameDay coverage of the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed this year's positional award winners. The awards honor the top college basketball player at each position, collectively known as the Naismith Starting Five. The winners were determined by a combination of input from selection committees and Starting Five Fan Voting.
Fighting Illini freshman Keaton Wagler won the Jerry West Award, presented annually to the nation's top shooting guard. Wagler was selected for the West Award over finalists Brayden Burries of Arizona, Isaiah Evans of Duke, Emanuel Sharp of Houston, and Solo Ball of UConn. Wagler becomes the third Illini player to win a positional award, following Cousy Award recipients Dee Brown in 2006 and Ayo Dosunmu in 2021.
"This is such a tremendous honor; I am humbled beyond belief," Wagler said. "I would like to thank the family of Mr. West and the Basketball Hall of Fame for selecting me from such a talented group of finalists who are all worthy of recognition as well. I give credit to everyone at the University of Illinois who have helped me along this path: my teammates, coaches, managers, support staff, and our fans. This is such a special season, making it to Indianapolis for the Final Four. I cannot wait to take the court with my teammates and represent Fighting Illini Basketball on the game's biggest stage."
Previous winners of the Jerry West Award are Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (2025), RJ Davis, North Carolina (2024), Marcus Sasser, Houston (2023), Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016), and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).Â
"At the Basketball Hall of Fame, celebrating excellence in basketball, at every level, for both men and women, is at the heart of everything we do," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. "This year's Starting Five Awards recipients embody the same talent and character as the legendary Hall of Famers for whom these awards are named. We proudly welcome this exceptional group as the next generation of basketball's brightest stars, knowing they will continue to make their mark on and off the court. It is our honor to officially name them the Men's and Women's 2026 Naismith Starting Five."
2026 Men's Naismith Starting Five
Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) – Bob Cousy (Point Guard) Award
Keaton Wagler (Illinois) – Jerry West (Shooting Guard) Award
AJ Dybantsa (BYU) – Julius Erving (Small Forward) Award
Cameron Boozer (Duke) – Karl Malone (Power Forward) Award
Zuby Ejiofor (St. John's) – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Center) Award
