UCLA's Donovan Dent Named to Player of the Year Watch List
October 30, 2025 | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. โ UCLA senior Donovan Dent has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year award.
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The 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year is selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches at the conclusion of the regular season. The award is typically announced during the week of the Men's Final Four, which takes place this season in Indianapolis. This year's preseason watch list is comprised of 20 student-athletes โ including five from the Big Ten Conference.
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Dent, a 6-foot-2 guard from Riverside, Calif., transferred to UCLA in the summer after having excelled the past three seasons at New Mexico. As a junior for the Lobos last season, Dent averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game. He was honored as the 2025 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team all-league selection.
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Through three collegiate seasons, Dent has averaged 13.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He has shot 50.3 percent from the field in his collegiate career, including a 36.8 percentage from 3-point range (46-for-125). Dent has scored at least 10 points in 67 games and has totaled 20 or more points in 27 games. In addition, he has registered at least 10 assists in seven career games โ four last year as a junior, and three in 2023-24 as a sophomore. He enters his senior season at UCLA having totaled seven career double-doubles, all of the point and assist variety.
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At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Dent was recognized as an honorable mention All-America selection by the Associated Press (AP). Last season, there were 28 college basketball players who earned All-America or honorable mention All-America honors in 2024-25. Six of those, including Dent, are returning to college in 2025-26 (All-America teams from the A.P., USBWA, NABC and Sporting News).
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Earlier this week, Dent was listed as one of 20 student-athletes to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List.
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2026 NABC Preseason Watch List
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Nate Ament, Tennessee
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Alex Condon, Florida
Donovan Dent, UCLA
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
PJ Haggerty, Kansas State
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Labaron Philon, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Milos Uzan, Houston
Darrion Williams, N.C. State
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