Ranking college basketball's best freshmen: Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. earns Freshman of the Week honors

When Louisville landed five-star guard Mikel Brown Jr., it was the latest indication that the program was heading in the right direction after a disastrous stretch under former coach Kenny Payne. Brown, the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, marked the school's highest-ranked commitment in the modern era.

Brown had his welcome to college basketball moment during his team's 96-88 win over Kentucky. He finished with a team-high 29 points and dished out five assists in a statement victory over the No. 9-ranked Wildcats. Brown is a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and is the kind of player who can elevate a program back to their glory days.

"You look at Mikel, Mikel is hooping," Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said last week. "You talk about some of those other guards that decide to go somewhere else, fine. You come to Louisville, we are going to hoop. We are going to have fun."

Jury is still out on Kentucky, but freshman Mikel Brown Jr. shows Louisville is back after beating rival

David Cobb

Louisville sure is having fun under Kelsey. After winning 12 games combined during the Payne era, the Cardinals won 27 games last year and are off to a 4-0 start during the 2025-26 campaign. The Cardinals have a roster with experience and depth, but Brown has the highest NBA ceiling of them all. He is Louisville's X-Factor, and as time goes on, he might be its best player, too.

Let's jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Freshman of the Week: Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville

Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the ten most impressive freshmen in college basketball. For the 11th season in a row, CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week, we'll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.

Brown was a no-brainer choice this week for Freshman of the Week because of his play against Kentucky. On the biggest stage, in one of the top nonconference games of the season, Brown showed why he can be one of the top players taken in the 2026 draft. Brown is a true floor general, but he can also score with ease, too.

Brown has logged at least 11 points in all four games this season. After scoring 29 points against Kentucky, he followed it up by finishing with 19 points and seven assists during a blowout win over Ohio. Louisville, as a team, has scored over 95 points in all four games. 

Previous Freshman of the Week winners

• Nov. 11: Koa Peat, Arizona

Frosh Watch: Ranking top 10 freshmen

1. Darryn Peterson | G | Kansas

Stats: 21.5 PPG | 3.5 RPG | 3.0 APG

Peterson didn't play in each of his team's two games last week due to a hamstring issue. Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters last weekend that his star freshman will be out for the "immediate future" due to the injury. His status for Kansas' marquee matchup against No. 4 Duke on Tuesday remains unclear. However, he remains No. 1 in Frosh Watch for now. Last week: 1

Darryn Peterson injury: Kansas star, top NBA Draft prospect out vs. Duke in Champions Classic

Cameron Salerno

2. Cameron Boozer | F | Duke

Stats: 22.5 PPG | 10.3 RPG | 4.3 APG

Boozer is coming off the best game of his young college career. He finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in a blowout win over Indiana State. He has scored 15 points in all four games and has recorded a double-double in two of them.

The next test for Boozer will come against Kansas on Tuesday. Last week: 2

3. Caleb Wilson | F | North Carolina

Stats: 20 PPG | 9.5 RPG | 3.0 APG

Wilson continues to be one of the most impressive first-year players in the sport and is making a strong case to be a top-five pick this summer. Wilson posted two double-doubles last week in wins over Radford and North Carolina Central.

In the 89-74 win over Raford, Wilson posted 13 points and 14 rebounds in just 22 minutes of action. Last week: 3

4. AJ Dybantsa | F | BYU

Stats: 20.3 PPG | 6.8 RPG | 2.0 APG 

Dybansta started slow against UConn but finished with arguably his best performance of his college career. In the 86-84 loss to the Huskies at TD Garden, the BYU star finished with 25 points and six rebounds while shooting an impressive 8 of 14 from the floor.

Dybansta was able to get to his spots around the rim in the second half and nearly brought his team all the way back after they trailed by double-digits in the second half. Last week: 5

5. Mikel Brown Jr. | G | Louisville

Stats: 19.3 PPG | 2.5 RPG | 6.8 APG 

Brown was one of the stars of the week in college basketball. He had his welcome to college basketball moment on one of the biggest stages against an in-state rival. Brown showcased why he could be the first true point guard selected in the 2026 draft with this performance.  Last week: 8

6. Nate Ament | F | Tennessee 

Stats: 20.0 PPG | 8.7 RPG | 3.7 APG 

The scouting report about Ament being one of the best scorers in his class has come to fruition during his first four games. Ament has scored at least 18 points in each of his first four games -- including his first career double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds). The most heralded high school recruit in Tennessee program history is living up to the early hype. Last week: 6

6. Koa Peat | F | Arizona

Stats: 26.3 PPG | 5.3 RPG | 2.8 APG

After having one of the best debuts by a first-year player in college basketball history, Peat has been held to just 17 total points in his last two games. He finished with seven points, four rebounds and six turnovers in a thrilling win over UCLA. Last week: 4

8. Darius Acuff Jr. | G | Arkansas

Stats: 19.8 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 4.8 APG

There aren't many freshmen duos playing as well as Acuff and Meleek Thomas right now. Acuff has scored at least 20 points in three of his first four games. Acuff has also dished out at least four assists in all four games. He is shooting 50% from the floor and 41.7% from the 3-point line on six attempts per night. Last week: 7

9. David Mirkovic | F | Illinois

Stats: 18.0 PPG | 12.5 RPG | 2.5 APG

Mirkovic had one of the best individual performances of any player in college basketball this season. He finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds while shooting 8 of 16 from the floor in an 84-65 win over Colgate. He will be in the mix of a competitive Big Ten Freshman of the Year race. Last week: 10

10. Ebuka Okorie | G | Stanford

Stats: 25.3 PPG | 4.3 RPG | 2.3 APG 

The No. 118 overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports has been one of the stars during the first two weeks of the season. He is averaging 25.3 points, which ranks first among all first-year recruits and No. 3 overall among all Division I players. Last week: NR