By ROB ROSE
The watch list for the 2023 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year was released on Wednesday and included several of the sport’s top players.
Houston senior Guard Marcus Sasser averaged 2 steals per game, Purdue junior Zach Edey averaged 2.3 blocks per game and Kentucky senior Oscar Tshiebwe led the NCAA with 14 rebounds per game.
Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis received the honor after he was third in the NCAA in blocks per game at 3.2.
UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark joined them on the list after he averaged 2.7 steals per game, tied for sixth in the NCAA with Northwestern senior guard Chase Audige.
The full 2023 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list is below:
| NAME | CLASS | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Audige | Senior | G | Northwestern |
| Leaky Black | Grad Student | F | North Carolina |
| Moussa Cisse | Junior | F | Oklahoma State |
| Jaylen Clark | Junior | G | UCLA |
| Zach Edey | Junior | C | Purdue |
| Andre Jackson Jr. | Junior | G | UConn |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Senior | F | Indiana |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | Junior | C | Creighton |
| Caleb McConnell | Fifth Year | G | Rutgers |
| Kevin McCullar Jr. | Senior | G | Kansas |
| Shakeel Moore | Junior | G | Mississippi State |
| Marcus Sasser | Senior | G | Houston |
| Jamarion Sharp | Junior | C | Western Kentucky |
| Oscar Tshiebwe | Senior | F | Kentucky |
| Zakai Zeigler | Sophomore | G | Tennessee |
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