North Carolina freshman forward Caleb Wilson is one of 25 players on the 2026 Naismith Men’s College Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Thursday.
Wilson, a 6-10 forward from Atlanta, leads the Tar Heels in blocked shots (28), steals (32) and defensive rebounds (139) this season. He has started all 20 UNC games this season, averaging 19.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
He is one of five Atlantic Coast Conference players on the list.
The full watch list is below.
Full Name
Year
Position
School
Conference
Flory Bidunga
Sophomore
Forward
Kansas
Big 12
Cameron Boozer
Freshman
Forward
Duke
ACC
Kylan Boswell
Senior
Guard
Illinois
Big Ten
Jaden Bradley
Senior
Guard
Arizona
Big 12
Maliq Brown
Senior
Forward
Duke
ACC
Javontae Campbell
Senior
Guard
Bowling Green
MAC
Rueben Chinyelu
Junior
Center
Florida
SEC
Somto Cyril
Sophomore
Center
Georgia
SEC
Silas Demary Jr.
Junior
Guard
UConn
BIG EAST
Zuby Ejiofor
Senior
Forward
St. John’s
BIG EAST
Kyle Evans
Senior
Forward
UC Irvine
Big West
Zvonimir Ivisic
Junior
Center
Illinois
Big Ten
Joshua Jefferson
Senior
Forward
Iowa State
Big 12
Jaquan Johnson
Sophomore
Guard
Bradley
MVC
Keba Keita
Senior
Forward
BYU
Big 12
William Kyle III
Senior
Forward
Syracuse
ACC
Yaxel Lendeborg
Graduate Student
Forward
Michigan
Big Ten
Tamin Lipsey
Senior
Guard
Iowa State
Big 12
Aday Mara
Junior
Center
Michigan
Big Ten
Duke Miles
Graduate Student
Guard
Vanderbilt
SEC
Tarris Reed Jr.
Senior
Center
UConn
BIG EAST
Tyler Tanner
Sophomore
Guard
Vanderbilt
SEC
Joseph Tugler
Junior
Forward
Houston
Big 12
Ernest Udeh Jr.
Senior
Center
Miami
ACC
Caleb Wilson
Freshman
Forward
North Carolina
ACC
