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, Jan. 11.
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:
Nick Boyd, Wisconsin (Big Ten)
Boyd averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in leading the Badgers to a 2-0 week. He cored a game-high 20 points while adding eight boards, and five assists in an 80-72 win over UCLA and then added 22 points with six assists, three rebounds and no turnovers in Wisconsin’s 91-88 win at No. 2 Michigan.
Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State (Conference USA)
Cottle earned the USBWA's weekly national honor for a second time as he averaged 26.5 points and leading the Owls (10-6, 2-3 CUSA) to a pair of home victories over Missouri State and Jax State. Kennesaw State handed MSU its first loss of league play behind Cottle’s 25 points and 11 assists, to give him his first career double-double. The senior guard became the fifth player to reach 1,500 career points last Wednesday. In the win over rival Jax State, he finished with 28 points, including 19 in the first half. The College Park, Ga., product, was 5-for-9 from downtown, setting a new KSU career record for most three-pointers, as his current total is now 237. Cottle leads CUSA in scoring at 20.2 points per game.
Richie Saunders, BYU (Big 12)
Saunders averaged 27.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists, helping the Cougars tie their program record with their 12th consecutive win while ranked. The senior guard scored a career-high 31 points, going 10-of-13 from the field while adding eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in the 104-76 win over Arizona State. The Riverton, Utah product followed that with his second career 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound game in the 89-84 win at Utah, scoring 24 points and adding 14 rebounds.
Braden Smith, Purdue (Big Ten)
Led Purdue to a pair of wins, averaging 24.5 points, 10.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Scored 23 points with seven assists and three steals in an 81-73 win over Washington and paired 26 points and 14 assists in a 93-85 victory over Penn State, becoming the first Big Ten player in at least 20 years to have at least 26 points and 14 assists in a game. This marks the second time for Smith to earn this weekly honor from the USBWA.
Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt (SEC)
The 6-0 sophomore from Brentwood, Tenn., averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.0 rebounds in conference wins over No. 13 Alabama and LSU. He scored a career-high 29 points to go with seven assists and four steals in the win over Alabama, becoming the first player in college basketball to have 25/7/4 in a top 15 matchup since Trae Young in 2018 and one of just four in the past 30 years (Young, Chris Paul, DeAndre Kane and Mike Bibby). He added another 20-point outing in the win over LSU, marking his fifth 20-point game of the season.
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; Kingston Flemings, Houston; Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State; Braden Smith, Purdue.
• 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.
• Week ending Dec. 7: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Tre Carroll, Xavier; Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Aidan Mahaney, UC Santa Barbara; Milan Momcilivic, Iowa State.
• Week ending Dec. 14: Myles Colvin Jr., Wake Forest; Melvin Council Jr., Kansas; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Dennis Parker Jr., Radford; Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana.
• Week ending Dec. 21: Christian Anderson, Texas Tech; Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee; Braden Huff, Gonzaga; Paul McNeil, NC State; Stephon Payne, Seton Hall.
• Week ending Jan. 4: Rafael Castro, George Washington; Boopie Miller, SMU; Paulius Murauskas, St. Mary's; Kahlil Singleton, Canisius; Chase Walker, Illinois State.
• Week ending Jan. 11: Nick Boyd, Wisconsin; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Richie Saunders, BYU; Braden Smith, Purdue; Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt.