"The introduction of revenue sharing and the explosion of name, image and likeness have created a level of talent not seen in college basketball in a long time. Projected NBA first-rounders are returning to school because they can make significant money while trying to boost their draft stock; international pros are coming to the United States to play in college; and the top end of the 2024 and 2025 high school recruiting classes were loaded."
"So what is the pecking order of elite players entering the 2025-26 men's college basketball campaign? ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf ranked the top 100 by creating their own lists and then deliberating a few dozen times to settle on the order below. Heading into last season, there was a clear debate at the top between Duke's Cooper Flagg and North Carolina's RJ Davis. We opted for Flagg given his enormous ceiling and his potential to produce a Carmelo Anthony-esque national championship run."
Revenue sharing and NIL have created unprecedented talent depth in college basketball. Projected NBA first-rounders are returning to school because they can earn significant money while improving draft stock. International professional players are choosing to play college basketball in the United States. The 2024 and 2025 high school recruiting classes feature a high concentration of elite prospects. Purdue's Braden Smith returned as a consensus first-team All-American and enters as a unanimous preseason All-American leading the No. 1 team. A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer headline a talented freshman cohort, while JT Toppin's late-season surge adds further top-end contention.
Read at ESPN.com
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