Iowa’s Luka Garza, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham highlight the Midseason Top 25 list for the John R. Wooden® Award presented by Wendy’s®. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.
The list was unveiled earlier tonight on ESPNU and ESPN.com.
On the 2021 Wooden Award™ Midseason Top 25, three players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: Derek Culver (West Virginia), Carlik Jones (Louisville), and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga). Three schools have multiple players on the list, led by Gonzaga (Corey Kispert, Suggs, and Drew Timme), and followed by Illinois (Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu) and Villanova (Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl).
The Big Ten leads all conferences with six selections on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, followed by the ACC with five, the BIG EAST with four, the Big 12 and West Coast with three selections each, the Pac-12 with two , and Conference USA and the Southeastern with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.
| Name | School | Class | Position |
| Scottie Barnes | Florida State | Fr. | Guard |
| Charles Bassey | Western Kentucky | Jr. | Center |
| James Bouknight | Connecticut | So. | Guard |
| Garrison Brooks | North Carolina | Sr. | Forward |
| Jared Butler | Baylor | Jr. | Guard |
| Marcus Carr | Minnesota | Jr. | Guard |
| Kofi Cockburn | Illinois | So. | Center |
| Derek Culver | West Virginia | Jr. | Forward |
| Cade Cunningham | Oklahoma State | Fr. | Guard |
| Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois | Jr. | Guard |
| John Fulkerson | Tennessee | Sr. | Forward |
| Luka Garza* | Iowa | Sr. | Center |
| Collin Gillespie | Villanova | Sr. | Guard |
| Ron Harper Jr. | Rutgers | Jr. | Guard/Forward |
| Sam Hauser | Virginia | Sr. | Forward |
| Matthew Hurt | Duke | So. | Forward |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana | So. | Forward |
| Carlik Jones | Louisville | Sr. | Guard |
| Corey Kispert | Gonzaga | Sr. | Forward |
| Remy Martin | Arizona State | Sr. | Guard |
| Evan Mobley | Southern California | Fr. | Forward |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | Villanova | So. | Forward |
| Jalen Suggs | Gonzaga | Fr. | Guard |
| Drew Timme | Gonzaga | So. | Forward |
| Marcus Zegarowski | Creighton | Jr. | Guard |
* indicates player selected as 2020 Wooden Award All American
