These are the freshmen ready for a star turn in the 2025 men’s NCAA tournament.
College basketball is an old man’s game now. There are fifth- and sixth-year seniors on contenders around the country thanks to this being the final “Covid year” season, which granted an extra year of eligibility to any player enrolled during the pandemic. The Auburn Tigers are perhaps the best example of why it’s beneficial to have an older roster. The No. 1 team in the polls for most of the season, Auburn has a 25-year-old, 24-year-old, 23-year-old, and 22-year-old in its rotation.
Teams built around freshmen can still have success, too. Look no further than Duke, the other national championship favorite, which has four first-year players in the rotation, led by super prospect Cooper Flagg. It’s amazing that Flagg has been arguably the best player in the sport this year despite only spending three years in high school and being 17 years old for half the season.
Flagg will be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and all eyes will be on his performance in the tournament. What’s interesting is that a lot of the other top draft picks could miss the tournament this year. Rutgers won’t make it, so Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are out. Baylor with VJ Edgecombe, Texas with Tre Johnson, Oklahoma with Jeremiah Fears, and Georgia with Asa Newell are all on the bubble.
Which freshmen could actually make an impact in the 2025 men’s NCAA tournament? These are the first-year players you need to know heading into 2025 men’s March Madness.
7. Liam McNeeley, F, UConn
UConn’s dreams being the first men’s team to three-peat since John Wooden did it at UCLA are on life support. The Huskies have been inconsistent and frustrating all season, and are currently projected as or 8- or 9-seed in the tournament. If Dan Hurley’s squad has any chance of making a run, he needs McNeeley, his most talented player, to have another scoring explosion. McNeeley missed five weeks with an ankle injury this year, and UConn struggled without him. When he returned, he popped off for 38 points against Creighton, 20 points against Villanova, and has been consistently drilling threes. The 6’7 wing is a high-IQ player and one of the best pure shooters in the country even if he’s limited athletically. There’s no doubt that UConn has the best coaching staff in the country and can put him in position to succeed. If he gets hot, don’t count out the Huskies yet.
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6. Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Illinois
Jakucionis went from a promising prospect at Barcelona to an instant impact freshman at Illinois upon arriving in the United States. The Lithuanian point guard has a killer step-back and fantastic playmaking vision which he’s used to pick apart Big Ten defenses all year. Jakucionis isn’t an elite run-and-jump athlete, but he’s crafty as a driver and has done a good job getting to the free throw line throughout the year. He can get sloppy with the ball and has had some maddening turnover issues this season, which he’ll need to avoid if Illinois is going to make a run in the NCAA tournament. The Illini take a ton of threes, but they don’t make many of them. Jakucionis’ ability to self-create open looks from deep with his step-back will be a key to their success. When he has a big man on an island, you know what’s coming. It feels like the Illini will only go as far as he takes them in March.
5. VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor
Will Baylor make the NCAA tournament? The Bears are on the right side of the bubble right now according to most projections, so I’m giving Edgecombe this spot over Tre Johnson and Asa Newell. Edgecombe is an absolutely sick athlete destined to be a top-5 NBA draft pick this summer. He’s made huge strides as a shooter during the season, and can get hot from deep like when he hit six threes against BYU and five threes against Cincinnati recently. Edgecombe is also one of the great defensive playmakers in the country, forcing steals and blocks like a player much bigger than the 6’3 he stands at. Edgecombe is a lot of fun to watch with his aerial attacks on the rim, and he’s quickly becoming Baylor’s best and most important player. If the Bears make the field of 68, Edgecombe has to be their leader.
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4. Derik Queen, C, Maryland
It’s hard to believe Montverde Academy had Flagg, McNeeley, and Queen all on the same high school team last year. Queen has been awesome offensively since joining Maryland, helping elevate them to one of the best teams in the Big Ten. The beefy big man is a fascinating player: he’s undersized for a center, doesn’t shoot threes, and his defense is a question mark, but he’s phenomenal at creating offense with the ball in his hands. Queen has great ball handling ability for a big man, and he’s able to leverage his strength for easy looks at the basket. Maryland feels like a sleeper team to make a Final Four run with guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and forward Julian Reese (Angel Reese’s brother) next to Queen. Queen is a bit of a polarizing draft prospect to this point, but with a big March run he could solidify himself as a lottery pick.
3. Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State
Why did it take Tom Izzo so long to realize Jase Richardson is his best player? The freshman guard was playing behind the likes of Tre Holloman, Jaden Akins, and Jeremy Fears for most of the season until being inserted as a starter in Feb. and immediately emerging as the Spartans’ leading man. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter: Izzo is known for getting his teams to peak in March, and it appears to be happening again with Richardson at the controls. The 6’3 guard is an incredible shooter who never turns the ball over. He’s a gifted driver with impressive body control around the rim, too. The last time MSU won a national championship was back in 2000 when Richardson’s father was one of their biggest stars. With another Richardson ascending to star status this year, Michigan State has a chance at making another deep run.
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2. Tahaad Pettiford, G, Auburn
Auburn might be the oldest team in the country, but one of their most important players is also their youngest. Tahaad Pettiford has been the type of guard Auburn never has: the lefty has a deep bag of scoring moves whether he’s driving to the basket or pulling up from three, giving Bruce Pearl’s team a microwave scorer who can create his own look when the offense gets bogged down. Pettiford is a little small for the NBA at 6’1, but that’s just fine with Auburn. His shot creation ability is the ultimate fallback plan if Johni Broome is struggling in the post or if Chad Baker-Mazara has an off-night. Pettiford might not be a household name yet, but he will be if Auburn makes the national championship run everyone is expecting.
1. Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
Cooper Flagg has somehow surpassed the enormous expectations he entered Duke with. The forward has been a top-2 player in the country despite being 17 years old for half the season, and he’s powered Duke to incredible team success in the process. Flagg was known for his defense coming out of high school, and while he’s been solid on that end, his offense has taken him to the superstar tier as a freshman. At 6’9, Flagg is an elite athlete who gets better at creating offense with the ball in his hands seemingly every night. He’s a load to deal with as a driver attacking the basket, and he’s also an excellent passer for a player his size. Duke has three other stud freshmen who could have made this list as well in Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, and Isaiah Evans, but Flagg is the engine of this team on both ends of the floor, and he just might be the best American basketball prospect since LeBron James.
