INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Nov. 30.
For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Leo Beath, UC San Diego (The Big West)
UC San Diego forward Leo Beath averaged 23.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in three wins at the Terry’s Chocolates ESPN Events Invitational to earn The Big West Men's Basketball Player of the Week award. In the three wins, the UCSD forward shot 61.9 percent (26-of-42) on field goals and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from 3-point range and was named Terry’s Chocolates ESPN Events Invitational-Adventure Bracket MVP. Beath, a junior, dropped 29 points, shooting 11-for-14 on field goals and 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, in a 91-76 win against Temple to open the MTE on Monday. In an 87-77 victory over Bradley on Tuesday, Beath put away 26 points, on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor and going 3-of-5 from long distance, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals. The Malibu, Calif. native compiled 16 points and five rebounds as the Tritons prevailed over Towson in the championship game on Wednesday, 87-73. UC San Diego is 7-0 to start the 2025 season.
Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State (Conference USA)
Cottle picks up his first weekly honor of the campaign after leading the Owls (5-2) to the GEICO Coconut Hoops Tournament title. KSU collected overtime wins over Rice and FGCU as the senior guard averaged a tournament-high 24.3 points per game. In the opener against Rice, Cottle scored 25 points with four rebounds and four assists. He saved his best performance for the final game, as he set a new career-high with 33 points on 7-13 shooting and 5-8 from downtown in a 102-100 win at FGCU.
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan (BIg Ten)
Lendeborg was named Most Valuable Player at the Players Era Festival after leading Michigan to three wins by more than 30 points, including wins over No. 21 Auburn and No. 12 Gonzaga. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks, shooting 63.0% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range and led the Wolverines in scoring in all three games. Lendeborg’s 11 assists doubled his season total, the four blocks nearly doubled his season total and his six steals tripled his season total.
Darin Smith, Central Connecticut (NEC)
Smith was the catalyst of a high-scoring Central Connecticut offense that averaged 115.0 points over a pair of games last week. The sophomore forward torched the nets with a 64.7 shooting percentage after he combined to go 22-of-34 from the floor. On the week, he averaged 31.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in two Blue Devils’ wins. Smith went off in Monday’s thrilling 108-106 overtime win over in-state foe Sacred Heart. Knocking down 12-of-21 shots from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, the Springfield, Mass., native turned in an 11-of-12 effort from the free throw line to lead all scorers with a career-high 38 points. It marked the highest scoring game by an NEC player since Le Moyne’s Kaiyem Cleary poured in 43 against LIU on Jan. 27, 2024. In addition, the 38 points were the most by a Blue Devil since Kyle Vinales netted 42 at Wagner on Feb. 14, 2013. Smith followed that performance with his fourth 20-point outing of the season — and the third in as many games — after he netted 24 points in 21 minutes on an efficient 10-of-13 effort from the field in a 122-57 win over Johnson & Wales.
Nick Townsend, Yale (Ivy League)
Townsend delivered a standout week for the Bulldogs, who have now won four straight—all on the road. The senior averaged 19.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and dished out 27 total assists while shooting 34-of-63 from the field and 8-of-15 from three. He scored in double figures in all five games, highlighted by a career-high 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting, along with nine rebounds and four assists in Yale's Paradise Jam semifinal win over College of Charleston. He followed that performance with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, six rebounds and a career-high 10 assists in the championship victory over Akron, earning tournament MVP honors. Townsend then capped the week with 13 points in a thrilling 77–74 win at Vermont. The senior has scored in double figures in all eight games for the Bulldogs and currently ranks second in the Ivy League in assists (5.0 apg), and fourth in scoring (18.9 ppg), and rebounding (6.9 rpg).
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2026 Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2025-26 USBWA Men's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 9: TJ Long, Vermont; Koa Peat, Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina.
• Week ending Nov. 16: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Mikel Brown, Louisville (ACC); Kingston Flemings, Houston (Big 12); Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State (Mid-American); Braden Smith, Purdue (Big Ten).
• Week ending Nov. 23: Michael Ajayi, Butler; David Coit, Maryland; MJ Collins Jr., Utah State; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State; Ethan Roberts, Penn.
• Week ending Nov. 30: Leo Beath, UC San Diego; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Darin Smith, Central Connecticut; Nick Townsend, Yale.