Top 10 Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 | NBA Draft Prospects 2024

Updating the Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 as Isaiah Collier of the USC Trojans leads the way

By admin | April 23, 2024

Top 10 Freshman College Basketball Player Rankings 2023-2024

The final whistle has blown as the 2023-2024 Men’s College Basketball schedule has come and gone as the UConn Huskies are crowned the National Champions. While only one team can take home the title as the top team, it does not take away from the level of talent across the sport and the dynamic performances of other top teams and players including some of the top freshmen in Men’s College Basketball. One of those talented freshmen is the USC Trojans freshman guard Isaiah Collier who lands atop the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024.

Collier, who arrived on campus with the Trojans highlighting one of the top incoming freshman classes in a long time, did not disappoint all season while showing flashes of his potential as a top overall player.

Unfortunately, the college basketball world will only get one season of Collier on the floor as the Trojans star has elected to enter the 2024 NBA Draft.

As Collier headlines the list of the top freshman, he is joined on the list by talented guard PJ Haggerty of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Malik Mack of the Harvard Crimson, Markus Burton of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Carlton Carrington of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Here is a look at the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024:

Honorable Mention

Stephon Castle

School: UConn Huskies

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: Unranked

Just missing the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 list is the UConn Huskies freshman guard Stephon Castle.

Castle, who was a five-star recruit entering school and the ninth best overall recruit within the 2023 recruiting class, slotted in as a key player on a Huskies team that repeated as back-to-back National Champions.

The Huskies guard has tremendous size at the guard position and played in 34 games this season averaging 26.9 minutes per game including posting 34 minutes in the championship game.

Castle finished the season averaging 11.1 points per game to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. In the final two games of the season (Final Four/National Championship), Castle posted 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Darren Buchanan Jr.

School: George Washington Revolutionaries

Position: Small Forward

Previous Ranking: 9

Another talented freshman to miss the list of the best freshman over the 2023-2024 Men’s College Basketball season is Darren Buchanan Jr.

The Washington DC native made the transfer from the Virginia Tech Hokies despite not playing a game for the team to the George Washington Revolutionaries.

A move that paid off for the former three-star recruit as the talented freshman posted 15.6 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

On the opposite end of the floor Buchanan Jr was a solid defender while posting 1.3 steals per game while posting 4.8 total defensive rebounds.

Top 10 Freshman College Basketball Player Rankings

10. Vasean Allette

School: Old Dominion Monarchs

Position: Point Guard

Previous Ranking: 10

Sliding in at number 10 on the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 list is the Old Dominion Monarchs freshman guard Vasean Allette.

Allette, who recently entered the transfer portal after being dismissed from the team in late January, was one of the top true freshman players on the floor over the course of the 2023-2024 season.

While only appearing in 19 games, Allette was strong for the Monarchs shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from behind the three-point line en route to averaging 17.4 points per game. Over 19 games, Allette failed to reach double figures in just two games while posting six games of at least 20 points scored.

9. JT Toppin

School: New Mexico Lobos

Position: Forward

Previous Ranking: 8

As you start to look around at the top freshman basketball players in Men’s College Basketball it is hard to not look at JT Toppin as one of the best in the country.

The former four-star recruit and 10^th best overall player in Texas of the 2023 recruiting class has been a workhorse for the New Mexico Lobos this season posting 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

The talented six-foot nine inch forward can do a little bit of everything including being a strong defender down low while averaging 1.9 blocked shots per game. Over the course of the season Toppin posted 12 double double performances over 12 games to go along with 11 games with at least three blocked shots.

8. Jared McCain

School: Duke Blue Devils

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: Unranked

Over the years the Duke Blue Devils have landed some of the top recruits in the country from McDonald’s All-Americans to five-star recruits. Jared McCain fit the bill as he entered the program as a top 15 prospect. The former five-star recruit did not disappoint in his freshman season earning a spot on the ACC All-Rookie team.

Over 36 games McCain averaged 31.6 points per game while being a solid shooting guard style of weapon for the Blue Devils offense. McCain finished the season strong posting 30 and 32 two points in two of the three Blue Devils games during the Men’s Basketball Championship.

Overall McCain finished the season averaging 14.4 points per game to go along with five rebounds, 1.9 assists while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from behind the three-point line.

7. Ja’Kobe Walter

School: Baylor Bears

Position: Shooting Guard

Previous Ranking: 6

At six foot five inches, Ja’Kobe Walter of the Baylor Bears has the physical tangibles to continue developing into one of the games top stars.

After arriving with the Bears as the nation’s eighth best basketball recruit and the top overall recruit from the state of Texas, Walter blossomed into one of the best all-around scoring freshman in the country while posting 14.5 points per game over 35 games played.

Walter took his game to the next level during the National Basketball Championship posting 39 points over two games to go along with 10 rebounds.

6. Rob Dillingham

School: Kentucky Wildcats

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: 7

Another top tier college program landing multiple top ranked prospects is the Kentucky Wildcats. One of those talented prospects entering the 2023-2024 Men’s College Basketball season is Rob Dillingham who recently announced he would forgo his sophomore season to enter the 2024 NBA Draft.

Dillingham is a strong guard who has great court vision and awareness to take his game to the next level at the point guard position. Dillingham finished his freshman season shooting 44.4 percent from behind the three-point line and 47.5 percent from the field.

The Wildcat’s freshman success from the field led to a 15.2 points per game average over 32 games played. To go along with those numbers Dillingham posted at least five assists in nine different games across the season.

5. Markus Burton

School: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: 5

Rounding out the Top 5 freshmen in the country on the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton.

Burton, who was not as heavily recruited as many of the other top freshmen during the 2023-2024 season made sure to make teams regret not giving him a chance.

The six-foot guard (5’11”) posted a strong state line in his first season with the Fighting Irish. Burton capped off the season averaging 17.5 points per game to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game over 33 games played.

The former three-star guard from Indiana also displayed excellent ability to run the team’s offense while playing unselfish at the guard position.

4. Malik Mack

School: Harvard Crimson

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: 3

While the elevated level of production dropped for the Harvard Crimson guard after returning from an injury, Malik Mack still displayed his high-level play despite seeing his overall production drop.

The Crimson guard capped off a strong freshman season averaging 17.2 points per game to go along with four rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. While Mack posted eight 20 plus point performances his play as a true traditional point guard ranked among the best of all the guards in the country.

Mack posted 14 games with at least five assists, five games with eight assists, and two additional games with at least four assists.

3. Carlton Carrington

School: Pittsburgh Panthers

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: 4

Like many of the other top freshmen joining the list on the college basketball landscape, the opportunity to jump to the NBA is not only a once in a lifetime opportunity but a dream.

That will be the case with Carlton Carrington who turned in a stat line that featured 13.8 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists opening the door for the Panthers guard to forgo his sophomore season and enter the 2024 NBA Draft.

Carrington, who played his high school basketball for the St. Frances Academy, arrived with the Panthers as the second-best recruit from the state of Maryland.

2. PJ Haggerty

School: Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Position: Guard

Previous Ranking: 1

When it comes to the top two freshmen in Men’s College Basketball each are well worth a mention with PJ Haggerty landing at number two on the list. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane guard was the star player on the team while ranking 13^th in the country in scoring posting 21.2 points per game.

The redshirt freshmen were stellar across 31 games this season adding 5.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

On the opposite end of the floor Haggerty added almost two steals per game (1.9) while playing strong defense on opposing guards while using his size at six foot three inches to slow them down.

1. Isaiah Collier

School: USC Trojans

Position: Point Guard

Previous Ranking: 2

In at number one on the Top 10 Men’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 list is the USC Trojans guard Isaiah Collier. Collier, like a few of the other top freshmen in the country, has elected to enter the 2024 NBA Draft while forgoing his remaining years of eligibility.

Despite not putting up the same level of production as some of the other top freshmen, Collier plays on the floor spoke for itself while his high basketball IQ and talent level on the hardwood was hard for anyone to not be impressed with.

Collier, who entered the 2023-2024 season as the top overall recruit finished the season averaging 16.3 points per game to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

How would you rank these college basketball freshmen for the 2023-2024 season? Rank below to be added in the NCAA Power Rankings.

Top 10 Freshman College Basketball Rankings 2023-2024 | NBA Draft Prospects 2024