Lipsey Named to Wooden Award Watch List

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Iowa State senior Tamin Lipsey has been named to the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award. In all, 50 men's college basketball players were named to the list.

The preseason honors have been rolling in for Lipsey. Lipsey has been named to the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time, the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Award Watch List, the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List and to the 10-person All-Big 12 Preseason Team.

Lipsey is off to a strong start to the year, leading the Cyclones to a 4-0 record. He is the first player in Big 12 history to tally 75 points, 20 assists and 15 steals through the first four games of a season. The only other major conference players to do that this century are Providence's Kris Dunn (2015-16) and South Carolina's Devan Downey (2007-08).

Last season, Lipsey was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award, presented to the player that is the heart and soul of a winning team. Lipsey earned All-Big 12 honors for the second-straight season, being named to the third team last season. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

Lipsey hit a pair of career milestones last year. On Feb. 22 he broke Monté Morris' career steals record with the 226th swipe of his career. He became the 35th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points against BYU on March 4. Lipsey is one of just 26 players in men's college basketball to play 100 games and average 10.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game since 1947-48. Lipsey averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals last year.

Selected by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 50 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team™ and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player.

Headlined by returning standouts and an impressive group of rising stars, the 2025-26 John R. Wooden Award® Men's Top 50 Watchlist features a deep and balanced field representing college basketball's most storied programs. The list includes veteran leaders such as Purdue's Braden Smith, UConn's Alex Karaban, and Tennessee's Ja'Kobi Gillespie, alongside a wave of elite newcomers like Duke's Cameron Boozer, Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance, and Kansas' Darryn Peterson. Programs including Kentucky, Florida, and St. John's each boast multiple selections, underscoring the depth of talent across the nation as the Wooden Award celebrates its fiftieth anniversary season.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2026 John R. Wooden Award® Men's Player of the Year. Players not selected for the list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award® midseason, late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award® qualifications.

Celebrating its 50th year, the Wooden Award will feature special programming throughout the season with first winner and ambassador Marques Johnson, culminating in the 2026 John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal. Winners and All Americans will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday, April 10, 2026.