ATLANTA – Penn State men's basketball guard Ace Baldwin Jr. is one of 15 Division I men's basketball players on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday afternoon.
The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding men's and women's defensive basketball players.
Baldwin Jr. is averaging a Big Ten-best 2.82 steals per game, a mark that ranks sixth in the country. The point guard has notched seven games with four or more steals this season, including a Penn State single-game record-tying eight steals on Jan. 10 vs. Northwestern.
The Baltimore native is stuffing the stat sheet in his first season as a Nittany Lion, averaging 13.6 points per game, a team-best 5.2 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.82 steals per game. Should he finish the season averaging 13+ points per game, 5+ assists per game and 2+ steals per game, Baldwin Jr. would be one of just four Big Ten players to do so since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since former Nittany Lion standout Tim Frazier did so in 2011-12.
Baldwin Jr. currently owns career marks of 1,129 points, 534 assists and 245 steals. He is on track to be the only active Division I player with 1,000+ points, 500+ assists and 250+ steals once he records his 250th career steal. His 245 career steals rank third amongst active Division I players.
He has proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the conference. He turned in a 15-point, 10-assist, 5-rebound, 5-steal performance on Jan. 31 in Penn State's road win at Rutgers, becoming the first Big Ten player since at least the 2010-11 season (13 years) to notch a 15/10/5/5 game. He is the first Big Ten player to have a 25+ point game (vs. VCU & Michigan), 13+ assist game (at Purdue) and 8+ steal game (vs. Northwestern) in a single season since Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves during the 1997-98 season.
Prior to coming to Penn State for his senior season, Baldwin Jr. was named both the Atlantic 10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year a season ago in addition to earning a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team during his time at VCU.
Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist
Ace Baldwin Jr. – Penn State
Reece Beekman – Virginia
Adem Bona – UCLA
Johni Broome – Auburn
Devin Carter – Providence
Ryan Dunn – Virginia
Zach Edey – Purdue
Dajuan Harris Jr. – Kansas
Jaelen House – New Mexico
Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton
Tamin Lipsey – Iowa State
Kevin McCullar Jr. – Kansas
Clifford Omoruyi – Rutgers
Jamal Shead – Houston
Zakai Zeigler – Tennessee
