BOSTON – Penn State senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has been named one of 25 finalists for the 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award, presented annually to the top defensive player in Division I basketball.
The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award finalist nod adds to Baldwin Jr.'s growing list of postseason accolades that also includes Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, NABC second-team All-District, third-team All-Big Ten (coaches & media) and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors.
Baldwin Jr. wrapped up the 2023-24 season leading the Big Ten in both steals (88) and steals per game (2.67), both of which are top-five marks in all of Division I. His 88 steals rank third all-time in the Penn State single-season record book.
His 2.67 steals per game overall tracks to be the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 31 years (since 1993). His 2.70 steals per Big Ten game were the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 10 years (since 2014).
The Baltimore, Md. native was the leader of a Penn State defense that led the Big Ten in steals per game and three-point field goal percentage defense this year.
Baldwin Jr. wrapped up his first season in the Blue & White leading the Nittany Lions with 14.2 points, 6.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He is one of just four Big Ten players since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since 2011-12 to finish a season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 6.0+ assists per game and 2.0+ steals per game.
Baldwin Jr. wrapped up the season as the only currently active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,297), 600+ career assists (618) and 250+ career steals (271).
The recipient of the annual Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, Ariz., the site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award Finalists
Justin Abson – Appalachian State
Ace Baldwin Jr. – Penn State
Reece Beekman – Virginia
Adem Bona – UCLA
Boo Buie – Northwestern
Johni Broome – Auburn
Devin Carter – Providence
Isaiah Cozart – Eastern Kentucky
Isaiah Crawford – Louisiana Tech
Ryan Dunn – Virginia
Zach Edey – Purdue
KiAndre Gaddy – Tarleton State
Andersson Garcia – Texas A&M
Dajuan Harris Jr. – Kansas
DaRon Holmes II – Dayton
Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton
Malevy Leons – Bradley
Tamin Lipsey – Iowa State
Bez Mbeng – Yale
Cliff Omoruyi – Rutgers
Jamal Shead – Houston
Charles Thompson – Towson
Kellen Tynes Jr. – Maine
Amari Williams – Drexel
Zakai Zeigler – Tennessee
