🏅The most valuable freshman in college basketball

Hey there,

The college basketball season is here, and the current class of freshman hoopers will likely earn more in NIL than any class before them. That’s why we thought we’d introduce you to the five top earners to start the 2024-2025 college basketball season. A little NIL hoops primer, if you will, for all those people who’ve been tapping their feet since March. 

We’re happy to offer this story to our All-Access subscribers. We’re coming at you all season with deep-dives, NIL analysis, and more – upgrade your subscription today to read the content that athletic directors, NIL General Managers, and more are all reading.

— Cole, Justin and Collin

At last, the college basketball season is upon us.

Last year, basketball headlines were dominated by a few names. On the women’s side, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and JuJu Watkins were all the rage – especially in the NIL world. Meanwhile, the men’s game centered around the dominance of Purdue’s Zach Edey, as well as the season-long title defense by the UConn Huskies. In all, upperclassmen seemed to thrive throughout the 2023-2024 season.

But the turn of November marked the new season, and it couldn’t be more different in 2024-2025. Sure, there are certainly a fair share of returning superstars, but freshman seem to be dominating the headlines early – especially the NIL headlines. And this isn’t a Bronny James situation… these are serious freshman talents with a chance to turn their college programs around in year 1.

To help you get prepped for the season, we thought it’d be fun to look at the top five freshman in college basketball, ranked in terms of their NIL valuation – these players are the future of college basketball, but they’re also the present. Of course, we’ll track the changes in their valuations as the season pushes on to see which valuations are rising and falling, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

Let’s get into it!

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