INDIANAPOLIS – Penn State men’s basketball graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. has been selected as one of 50 Division I men’s basketball players on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, as announced by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Monday afternoon.
Members of the USBWA’s board of directors chose the players that will be considered as contenders for the National Player of the Year. Baldwin Jr. was also named a top-10 finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award earlier today.
Baldwin Jr. has shined this season, averaging team-best marks of 14.1 points and 7.8 assists per game to go along with 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest. His 7.8 assists per game ranks fourth in all of Division I, while his 93.3% free throw percentage ranks fifth nationally.
The Baltimore, Md. Native has notched five points-assists double-doubles this season and has tallied double-digit assists in more games (6) than he did all of last season (4), including a single-game school record 16 helpers on Dec. 14 vs. Coppin State.
Baldwin Jr. owns career marks of 1,593 points, 782 assists and 313 steals, making him the only active Division I player and one of just nine Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) to accumulate career marks of 1,500+ points, 700+ assists and 300+ steals.
He is the NCAA’s active Division I leader in career steals with 313 and is poised to break into the top 30 of the NCAA’s all-time steals leaders this season. His 782 assists are second amongst active Division I players.
Baldwin Jr. is the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He earned the following honors a season ago: Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, NABC Second Team All-District 7 selection, third-team All-Big Ten (coaches & media) pick and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors. The point guard transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2023-24 season following three standout years at VCU in which he was a two-time All-Conference pick and the 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
The Oscar Robertson Trophy winner is to be announced at the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, from April 5-7. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March and those chosen will be included on the USBWA's annual awards ballot.
2025 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Johni Broome, Auburn
Lamont Butler, Kentucky
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Donovan Dent, New Mexico
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Ja'Kobe Gillespie, Maryland
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Chase Hunter, Clemson
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Ian Jackson, North Carolina
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Kam Jones, Marquette
Alex Karaban, UConn
Trey Kauffman-Renn, Purdue
Kon Knueppel, Duke
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
Caleb Love, Arizona
RJ Luis, St. John's
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple
Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Asa Newell, Georgia
Norchad Omier, Baylor
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
Mark Sears, Alabama
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Javon Small, West Virginia
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.