The 2025 high school class is one of the most highly regarded to enter men’s college basketball in quite some time. While college coaches largely spend less time than ever recruiting multiple classes ahead, many made exceptions to invest time in the ’25 class as 15- and 16-year-olds. That work should end up paying huge dividends this season for many of the top programs in the sport. Who are some of the top freshmen to watch and a few sleepers whose names you’ll learn quickly? Sports Illustrated has 15 names you’ll want to get familiar with.
The Stars
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Peterson is as talented a guard prospect as we’ve seen come to college basketball in quite some time. He has elite size, long arms and has absolutely dominated both the Adidas summer circuit and top prep school competition. Bill Self has raved about Peterson, calling him the best freshman he has ever recruited in an offseason interview with Jon Rothstein. He’ll shoulder a massive offensive load on a Kansas team that otherwise lacks high-level scoring options.
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Another top contender for the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft, Dybantsa could be the next elite big wing scorer who dominates the NBA. First, he’ll spend a year in Provo, Utah, as perhaps the highest-paid college athlete in the country, starring on a team with enormous expectations featuring Baylor transfer Rob Wright III incoming at point guard and star wing Richie Saunders returning. It’ll be worth watching how Dybantsa shoots the ball after a tough go with the USA U19 team at the World Cup this summer, but his scoring gifts are as advanced as any in college hoops.
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Boozer doesn’t quite ooze upside the way Peterson and Dybantsa do, but at some point production and winning speaks for itself. Boozer has been a 20/10 machine everywhere he has played and brought winning with him, with four state championships and a national title in high school and three Peach Jam titles in AAU while teaming up with his brother Cayden. Expectations will be enormous given his last name and the big shoes to fill of replacing Cooper Flagg, but Boozer is up for the challenge.
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville
Brown’s star has grown significantly in the last 12 to 18 months as a late growth spurt has taken him from undersized scoring guard to a more prototypical modern NBA point guard. While Dybantsa won MVP honors at the U19 World Cup, many scouts came away more moved by Brown’s star showing, lighting it up from beyond the arc and doing an excellent job getting teammates involved.
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Ament’s ceiling is sky high, perhaps matching or even topping that of Peterson or Dybantsa. He’s further away from realizing that lofty bar though as a very slender 6' 10" big wing who’s still growing into his body and game. Tennessee should give him plenty of opportunities to prove he's ready for the highest level by playing in the hyper-physical SEC. He’s the best NBA prospect Rick Barnes has coached since Kevin Durant and could play his way into the No. 1 pick conversation with a big year.
Impact Starters
Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
Yessoufou is the all-time leading scorer in California high school basketball and has also moved the needle in the eyes of NBA scouts with his defense, making him a potential top-10 pick entering what’s likely his lone season at Baylor. He’s by far the likeliest candidate to extend Baylor’s streak of consecutive years with a first-round pick to six.
Acaden Lewis, Villanova
Talent meets opportunity for Lewis at Villanova, where he should see far more minutes early in his career than he would have had he remained committed to Kentucky. Lewis is incredibly fun to watch with the ball in his hands, with the ability to break people down off the bounce and three-level scoring. On a relatively underwhelming Villanova roster, Lewis could well be the leading scorer and earn NBA draft one-and-done looks despite his slender frame.
Isiah Harwell, Houston
A torn ACL midway through his junior year of high school kept Harwell somewhat out of sight and out of mind while other top 2025 recruits shined, but there aren’t many guards in this class with more talent than Harwell. The Idaho native has great size, the ability to play on and off the ball and has elite shotmaking potential. He should make the biggest impact of Houston’s three highly touted freshmen this season.
Shon Abaev, Cincinnati
Few in this class have more scoring upside than Abaev, who has filled it up at virtually every level of youth basketball. While he likely won’t be given the same freedom offensively at Cincinnati as he has had in high school and AAU, there’s a path for him to make an instant impact in what feels like a make-or-break year for Wes Miller and the Bearcats. And while he’s not a primary ballhandler, he could benefit from a touches perspective from the summer dismissal of starting PG Jizzle James.
Kayden Mingo, Penn State
Opportunity is everything for freshmen who are now often blocked by incoming portal pieces. Outside of the five-stars, few high-major freshmen have a clearer path to big early minutes than Mingo, who ranks as the program’s highest-rated recruit in the modern recruiting rankings era as a consensus top-40 player in the class. He’s a versatile guard who competes defensively and has the ability to slash to the rim, all while providing key secondary playmaking next to Turkish import Melih Tunca.
The Sleepers
Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Enthusiasm internally about Wagler’s short- and long-term future in Champaign, Ill., has been loud this summer. The Kansas native is an old-fashioned sleeper in an age where few players don’t get tons of eyes on them, having played on a small summer circuit and barely getting any recruiting attention until later last summer and fall. His size and playmaking ability give him an NBA ceiling in time, and Illinois can afford to bring him along a bit slowly with veteran starters in the backcourt ahead of him.
Isaiah Johnson, Colorado
Colorado desperately needed backcourt upgrades after losing both starting guards from a year ago. UC Riverside transfer Barrington Hargress should help, but next to him could well be Johnson, a guy ranked outside the top 250 nationally in the 247Sports composite. The California native shined in the Buffs’ summer trip to Australia with his scoring and playmaking ability. Don’t be surprised if he’s one of the highest-scoring non-five-star freshmen in the sport this year.
Jaylen Petty, Texas Tech
Petty was a late consolation prize for Tech after its long pursuit of Australian guard Ben Henshall ended unsuccessfully. He’s hardly a disappointing one though after looking like one of the most dynamic scorers in all of AAU basketball last summer. Petty committed to New Mexico under Richard Pitino, then was briefly committed to Stanford after Pitino left for Xavier before flipping to the Red Raiders. The Washington Gatorade Player of the Year isn’t a perfect fit next to expected starting point guard Christian Anderson due to his size, but the Red Raiders found ways to get Anderson on the floor next to Elijah Hawkins a year ago and may have to do the same to get Petty’s instant offense on the floor.
Kelvin Odih, St. John’s
Rick Pitino spent much of the summer raving about Odih, a 6' 4" defensive ace who the Red Storm added late after he decommitted from West Virginia following a coaching change. Odih’s athleticism and intensity on the defensive end seem likely to earn him key bench minutes, especially in Pitino’s aggressive system on that end of the floor. His offensive upside remains to be seen, but St. John’s won’t have to ask much of him on that end early on in his career.
Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
This looks like a rebuilding year in Palo Alto, Calif., in Kyle Smith’s second year after graduating Maxime Raynaud and Jaylen Blakes. But Smith has always had a sharp eye for talent and especially point guards, and Okorie could end up being a long-term answer for the Cardinal in their backcourt. He’s a consummate floor general capable of running a team and leading, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him thrown into the fire early on.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 15 Freshmen Men’s Hoops Players You’ll Know By March Madness.