Breaking Down the Top Arizona Basketball Players

Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.

Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Since taking over Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd has been one of the most successful up-and-coming coaches in college basketball going 112-33 over the course of the last four seasons making the NCAA Tournament each season and leading the program to three Sweet Sixteen appearances.

This past season, Lloyd and his program entered a new era of Arizona basketball with the Wildcats leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12 Conference. In UA’s first season in a new conference, the team went 24-13 while finishing third in the conference standings.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) drives to the basket against Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the first half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

In the Big 12 Tournament, the Wildcats made it to the conference title game and fell 72-64 to Houston, which would go on to play for the National Title.

Following the end to the season, Arizona lost star guard Caleb Love to graduation and forward Carter Bryant to the NBA Draft where he went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.

Plus, Arizona saw two key players in KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar leave the program and transfer to Power 4 programs.

Dec 7, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Southern Utah Thunderbirds forward Jamari Sibley (14) and center Malik Lamin (32) battle for the rebound with Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (14) during the second half at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Despite that, Arizona will be fully loaded again with four key returners in Jaden Badley, Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas. Plus, Lloyd and his staff signed the No. 2 recruiting class according to 24/7 Sports.

We are inching closer to the start of the college basketball season with Arizona tipping off its schedule against defending national champions in the Florida Gators in Las Vegas three days from now.

However, before the Wildcats take on Florida in Vegas, Arizona has wrapped up its final exhibition games facing off against Embry-Riddle where the Wildcats were able to walk away with a dominating 133-42 win.

Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Anthony Dell'Orso (3) celebrates with forward Carter Bryant (9) after defeating the Oregon Ducks at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The Wildcats have gone 2-0 during the exhibition part of their season with an impressive 81-68 game over Saint Marys and now a dominating win over Embry-Riddle.

Now with the two exhibition games in the books, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together our top three players entering the 2025-26 season.

Top Three Players

Tobe Awaka

One of the best rebounding big men in the nation plays for Arizona in forward Tobe Awak, who was a double-double machine in his first season with the program. Although his offensive game was limited at Tennessee, Awaka has become more of an offensive threat under Lloyd.

When looking at the potential starting lineup for the season, Awaka is a must at the center position for the Wildcats with the toughness and edge he brings to the court.

Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) rebounds the ball against Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle (32) in the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Plus, when looking at who might be one of the better defensive players on the roster, Awaka has the chance to be just that for the Wildcats.

Brayden Burries

A lot of talk has been surrounding freshman forward Koa Peat and deservingly so. However guard Bryaden Burries has been getting overlooked nationally in comparison to Peat, yet both were five-star recruits.

Burries was able to show off his scoring ability in both games and looks like he could be the Wildcats No. 1 scoring option. Although he has a lot of developing to do, it is realistic to think that he could be one of the top NBA Draft picks following his freshman season.

Jaden Bradley

Entering his third season with the program, point guard Jaden Bradley will have a larger role as the main ball handler with Caleb Love graduating. Bradley will be key in getting the Wildcats’ offense in the right sets and putting guys in position to succeed.

Although he was left off the All-Conference Preseason Team, Bradley will be one of the better point guards in the Big 12 this season and had an impressive 3.7 apg rate while turning the ball over 1.8 times per game.

Please be sure to share your thoughts on our top three players list for Arizona basketball ahead of the 2025-26 season. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.