Duke's Cameron Boozer wins men's Naismith Player of the Year award

Nick BrombergSun, April 5, 2026 at 6:37 PM UTC

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Cameron Boozer’s fantastic freshman season has earned him the Naismith Award for college basketball’s men’s player of the year.

The Duke forward was given the award on Sunday after he averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds a game in 2025-26. Duke narrowly missed out on advancing to the Final Four after UConn stunned the Blue Devils 73-72 in the Elite Eight.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive the Naismith Player of the Year Award,” Boozer said in a statement. “When you think about the history of this award and all the great players who’ve been recognized before, it really puts things in perspective. It’s something I don’t take lightly. This game has given me so much, and I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by amazing teammates, coaches, and a family that’s supported me every step of the way. They’ve challenged me, believed in me, and helped me grow not just as a player, but as a person. I know I still have a long way to go, and this recognition just motivates me to keep working and do everything I can to keep improving every day.”

Boozer’s strong season powered Duke to the ACC regular season and tournament titles along with the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. He scored at least 30 points on four different occasions and shot nearly 56% from the field.

In Duke’s season-ending loss to the Huskies, Boozer scored 27 points and had 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Though he hasn’t officially made his NBA Draft decision, Boozer is considered a likely top-five pick in what should be a stellar draft class. Boozer was the No. 3 recruit in the high school class of 2025 behind BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.

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He chose Duke along with his twin brother Cayden, a four-star prospect. The two picked Duke, where their father, Carlos, starred for three seasons from 1999 through 2002 before he was a second-round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Cameron Boozer shot over 50% from the field in 27 of Duke’s 38 games in 2025-26. Thanks to early-season wins over Kansas, Arkansas, Florida and Michigan State, Boozer immediately established himself as the best player in college basketball to take a lot of the drama out of the player of the year discussion.

Boozer scored 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting in a November win over Arkansas before following that up with 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 66-60 win at Michigan State on Dec. 6.

He was just as good in ACC play. Boozer scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds in Duke’s only conference loss of the season at North Carolina. When the Tar Heels came to Duke to end the regular season, Boozer was 10-of-17 from the field for 26 points and had 15 rebounds in what could have been his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Along with Boozer, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was named the Naismith coach of the year and Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu was named the defensive player of the year. Lloyd’s award comes a day after his Wildcats were blown out in the Final Four by Michigan as the Wolverines advanced to play UConn in the national championship game on Monday night.

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Source: “AOL Sports”