2025 Men's Wooden Award Winner Predictions, Betting Odds & Favorites to Win

• After winning back-to-back Wooden Awards, Zach Edey opted to stay into the 2024 NBA Draft, leaving the award open in the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

• Kansas’s Hunter Dickinson and North Carolina’s R.J. Davis are the two odds favorites to win the Wooden Award leading up to the start of the season.

• Centers have won the Wooden Award in each of the past four seasons.

Since 1977, the John R. Wooden Award has been given to the most outstanding player in college basketball. One thousand sportswriters and sportscasters from all over the country vote for the player they deem the most worthy of the award based on individual statistics, team performance, and more.

Last season, Zach Edey became just the second player to win two Wooden Awards, leading Purdue to the National Championship game and averaging 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game on an astoundingly efficient 62.3% shooting from the field.

Entering the 2024-25 regular season, several players could have a breakout season or continue their dominance, resulting in a shot at winning the Wooden Award. That list of players includes Hunter Dickinson, Mark Sears, R.J. Davis, Cooper Flagg, A.J. Storr, and more.

Find out below which of these players are our favorites to win the Wooden Award this season and their respective odds!

2025 NCAA Men’s Wooden Award Odds

Below, we have listed the odds favorites to win the 2025 Men’s Wooden Award in a table, including Hunter Dickinson, R.J. Davis, Mark Sears, A.J. Storr, L.J. Cryer, Johnell Davis, and others. 

The odds below are courtesy of Borgata Sportsbook. Follow the listed link and place your favorite Wooden Award future bet at Borgata: Bet $20, Get $100 Instantly.

2025 Men’s Wooden Award Winner Favorites

Mark Sears (+900 at Borgata Sportsbook) - Alabama

A case could be made that Mark Sears is the best-returning player in college basketball alongside Hunter Dickinson. Sears helped guide the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Final Four despite the team boasting a sub-100 defense, per KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency.

In many ways, outside of just height, Sears also resembles current NBA star Jalen Brunson. For example, both are effective three-level scoring lead guards who are below-the-rim players; they are also left-handed and use craftiness to finish around the rim. 

Of course, Brunson won the Wooden Award in 2018. Don’t be surprised if he joins the long list of undersized point guards who have won the Wooden Award, including Brunson, Frank Mason, and Trey Burke.

Last season, Sears averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and four assists per game on an outrageous 50.8% shooting from the field, 43.6% from behind the arc, and 85.7% from the charity stripe.

While leading one of the top offensive units, Sears had a legitimate argument of being the most efficient guard in college basketball. 

If Sears can put up similar numbers and Alabama finishes as a top team in the nation, winning either the SEC regular season or SEC Tournament, Sears will have plenty of fans amongst the voters.

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R.J. Davis (+800 at Borgata Sportsbook) - North Carolina

Davis, one of last year’s five finalists for the Wooden Award, returns to the North Carolina Tar Heels for his super senior season. With Dalton Knecht, Tristen Newton, Jamal Shead, and Edey moving on to the NBA, Davis will be in a prime position to be in the running for the award again.

During his 2023-24 campaign, Davis posted 21.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on a 43/40/87 shooting split. While Davis was not quite as efficient as Sears on the offensive end of the floor, he still was an irreplaceable piece to the Tar Heels’ offense and helped lead them to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament alongside Armando Bacot.

Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram, and Bacot are all gone, so Davis will be leaned offensively. Despite adding 5-star recruits Ian Jackson and Drake Powell and Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, Davis will still be the de facto scoring option in what projects as a high-octane offense.

Davis’s chances of winning the Wooden Award during the 2024-25 campaign rely primarily on how the Tar Heels perform as a team. He will undoubtedly score a boatload of points, but that will only matter if they finish atop the ACC and lock in a No. 1 or 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

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Cooper Flagg (N/A at Borgata Sportsbook) - Duke

The last time a freshman won the Wooden Award was in the 2018-19 season when Zion Williamson helped lead the Duke Blue Devils to a 32-6 record, including an ACC Tournament championship and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Since then, upperclassmen have won the Wooden Award four times, asserting their dominance in college basketball; however, if there were ever a player who could flip the script, it would be Cooper Flagg.

Flagg enters his freshman season as the consensus top freshman in the country. He will likely be the first overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft due to his extraordinary two-way ability on the court.

At 6-foot-9, Flagg has fantastic positional size to play either forward position. He can defend all positions on the floor with relative ease due to his length, height, lateral quickness, and vertical ability; he also has elite hand speed for a player of his size.

Defensively, Flagg boasts an Andrei Kirilenko-like versatility that will make him nearly impossible to score on, especially at the collegiate level, which typically has less floor spacing and (certainly less) individual talent than the NBA.

On the other end of the floor, Flagg can use his physicality, length, and strength to score on smaller defenders, while bigger defenders have tremendous difficulty staying in front of him because of his tight handle and quick first step. 

If you are looking for a weakness in Flagg’s game, there isn’t one. The only area he could improve in that would take him from world-class to all-time would be his 3-point shooting ability. 

Duke will again be a powerhouse in the ACC, but it has fewer offensive weapons than in years past. This gives Flagg a more straightforward path to the Wooden Award than most other freshmen in recent history.

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Hunter Dickinson (+800 at Borgata Sportsbook) - Kansas

Hunter Dickinson, the Kansas Jayhawks’ super senior center, is tied for the best odds to win the Wooden Award with other bonafide stars like Cooper Flagg and R.J. Davis. 

Now that former Purdue sensation Zach Edey has left for the NBA, Dickinson will enter this season as the consensus best big man in college basketball. He can score at all three levels offensively and provides adequate rim protection on the other end of the floor due to his size (7-foot-2) and terrific timing instincts.

Last season, Dickinson posted 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 54.8% shooting from the floor and 35.4% from behind the arc; he also took an average of two 3-pointers per game, so the volume was respectable.

During the 2022-23 season, Dickinson hit at an even higher rate, knocking down nearly 43% of his long-distance looks; if he gets back to that percentage and continues to improve his scoring ability, he will be almost impossible to stop at the collegiate level.

Another area in which Dickinson has shown considerable improvement is his passing ability; it would not be shocking to see him hover closer to three or even four assists per game, as he will undoubtedly be used as a hub offensively. Dickinson will find himself in many DHOs and pick-and-roll actions that could result in more assist opportunities.

The only visible threat to Dickinson’s chances of winning the Wooden Award in the 2024-25 season is the talent around him. Simply put, the Jayhawks are loaded, meaning he could have fewer scoring opportunities than in previous seasons. Players like A.J. Storr, Rylan Griffen, and Zeke Mayo will soak up the offensive void left by Kevin McCullar Jr and Johnny Furphy.

Still, Dickinson will be a crushing force on both ends for the Jayhawks, who should have one of the nation’s two or three most talented rosters. If he leads a one-seeded Kansas team to a Big 12 regular season championship and Big 12 Tournament title, it is hard to see this award going anywhere except in his trophy case.

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Robbie Avila (+8000 at Borgata Sportsbook) - Saint Louis

Let’s be clear: this is a mega-longshot pick that does not have a high percentage chance of hitting. However, it is intriguing due to Robbie Avila’s unique skill set and overall impact on the game, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. 

Avila nearly led the Indiana State Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament last season, narrowly missing out after dropping a few games late in the year, including the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game.

During the 2023-24 campaign, Avila posted an impressive 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game on a hyper-efficient 54% shooting from the field and a near-40% clip from deep. 

Avila served as the offensive hub for the Sycamores. He will also have that role in Saint Louis, where he followed former Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz. Further, his improvement year over year (freshman to sophomore season) was so significant that it is entirely possible he will take another giant leap during his junior season.

If Avila propels Saint Louis to a high seed and posts massive numbers in the process, he has an outside chance of being this year’s Obi Toppin or Doug McDermott; that is, winning the Wooden Award at a smaller program.

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2025 Men’s Wooden Award - My Pick 

Mark Sears - Alabama (+900 at Borgata Sportsbook) 

A few key factors sway us towards laying money down on Sears to win the Wooden Award in 2025. 

First, Sears will spearhead either the best or second-best offense in the nation, along with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Last season, the Crimson Tide finished second in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom; the generationally talented UConn Huskies were the only team to finish higher in that category. 

With Sears, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. returning this year and Aden Holloway, Houston Mallette, Cliff Omoruyi, Labaron Philon, and Chris Youngblood incoming, this team will be exceptional on the offensive end of the floor. Similar output, similar efficiency, and better overall results as a team will put Sears in a prime position to win the Wooden.

Additionally, Sears has already built up a huge reputation as a big-game player, leading Bama to the Final Four last season despite a horrendous team defense. Sears can take advantage of and build on this equity with voters entering next season, especially if the Crimson Tide take the next step forward in 2025.

Lastly, voters will not be able to ignore Sears’ efficiency, which is elite at any level, particularly the collegiate one, since the spacing is generally not as good as in the NBA. Not many collegiate guards can shoot over 50% from the floor and higher than 40% from 3-point land, giving Sears another edge over other high-scoring players like Davis.

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Men’s Wooden Award History

Who Won the Men’s Wooden Award in 2024?

After dominating every team the Purdue Boilermakers faced, Zach Edey secured his second consecutive Wooden Award last season in 2024. 

Edey averaged a monstrous 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game on a tremendous 62.3% shooting from the field. Edey anchored the Boilermakers’ defense while being the offensive hub on the other end of the floor.

Edey became just the second player in the history of college basketball to win back-to-back Wooden Awards, joining former Virginia legend Ralph Sampson. 

Like Edey, Sampson was a dominant 7-foot-4 center with incredible touch and footwork around the rim.

Who Has Won the Men's Wooden Award?