UCLA Star Makes Exclusive Award Watch List Ahead of Debut Season

Donovan Dent has been the talk of the college basketball landscape, and he's being regarded as one of the best in the nation.

Nov 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin talks to guard Donovan Dent (2) during the second half against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

UCLA Bruins star point guard Donovan Dent is one of the program's most dynamic players to take the court in recent history, and he's being regarded as one of the best players in the country.

Ahead of his UCLA debut against Eastern Washington on Monday, Dent was selected to the 50-man preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year Award.

Dent was an All-American honorable mention with New Mexico last season, where he took home the Mountain West Player of the Year and averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game.

Nov 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) drives to the basket against Eastern Washington Eagles guard Jojo Anderson (22) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Thirteen players from the Big Ten were selected to the watch list including Dent. Here's the full list of players that made the list with Dent:

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2025-26 Naismith Trophy Men's Watch List

• Darius Acuff Jr. (freshman, guard) – Arkansas
• Nate Ament (freshman, forward) – Tennessee
• Robbie Avila (senior, center) – St. Louis
• Solo Ball (junior, guard) – Oregon
• Nate Bittle (senior, center) – Oregon
• John Blackwell (junior, guard) – Wisconsin
• Cameron Boozer (freshman, forward) – Duke
• Mikel Brown Jr. (freshman, guard) – Louisville
• Markus Burton (junior, guard) – Notre Dame
• Alex Condon (junior, forward/center) – Florida
• Ryan Conwell (senior, guard) – Louisville
• Donovan Dent (senior, guard) – UCLA

Nov 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) dribbles the ball against Eastern Washington Eagles guard Johnny Radford (21) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

• Tucker DeVries (senior, forward) – Indiana
• Josh Dix (senior, guard) – Creighton
• A.J. Dybantsa (freshman, forward) – BYU
• Zuby Ejiofor (senior, forward) – St. John's
• Isaiah Evans (sophomore, guard/forward) – Duke
• Boogie Fland (sophomore, guard) – Florida
• Ja'Kobi Gillespie (senior, guard) – Tennessee
• P.J. Haggerty (junior, guard) – Kansas State
• Thomas Haugh (junior, forward) – Florida
• Bryce Hopkins (grad student, guard/forward) – St. John's
• Josh Hubbard (junior, guard) – Mississippi State
• Graham Ike (grad student, forward) – Gonzaga
• Tomislav Ivišic (junior, center) – Illinois
• Ian Jackson (sophomore, guard) – St. John's
• Alex Karaban (senior, forward) – UConn
• Trey Kaufman-Renn (senior, forward) – Purdue
• Xaivian Lee (senior, guard) – Florida
• Yaxel Lendeborg (grad student, forward) – Michigan
• Tamin Lipsey (senior, guard) – Iowa State
• Jaland Lowe (junior, guard) – Kentucky
• Nick Martinelli (senior, forward) – Northwestern
• Otega Oweh (senior, guard) – Kentucky
• Koa Peat (freshman, forward) – Arizona

Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) celebrates a play against the Florida Gators in the second half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

• Darryn Peterson (freshman, guard) – Kansas
• Tahaad Pettiford (sophomore, guard) – Auburn
• Labaron Philon Jr. (sophomore, guard) – Alabama
• Richie Saunders (senior, forward) – BYU
• Emanuel Sharp (senior, guard) – Houston
• Jackson Shelstad (junior, guard) – Oregon
• Braden Smith (senior, guard) – Purdue
• Bennett Stirtz (senior, guard) – Iowa
• Andrej Stojakovic (junior, guard) – Illinois
• Bruce Thornton (senior, guard) – Ohio State
• JT Toppin (junior, forward) – Texas Tech
• Joseph Tugler (junior, forward) – Houston
• Milos Uzan (senior, guard) – Houston
• Darrion Williams (senior, forward) – N.C. State
• Caleb Wilson (freshman, forward) – North Carolina

Mar 29, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward JT Toppin (15) walks downcourt during the second half against the Florida Gators during the West Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

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