Freshmen Report: 5 Prospects Raising Their Stock in College Basketball

The college basketball landscape is still full of talent, especially at the Division I level. However, Ace Bailey, Cooper Flagg and VJ Edgecombe aren’t the only freshmen names playing well. Take a look at five freshman performing well at mid-major level.

Adrian Wooley - Kennesaw State

Wooley is a 6-foot-5 guard with Kennesaw State in Conference USA to keep close tabs on. He’s got the Owls at 11-7 this season while averaging 18.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He’s shooting 39.6 percent from behind the arc and ranks ninth currently in the conference in 3-pointers made (36). They’ve already got a victory over the Rutgers Scarlets Knights and their talented freshmen duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper back on Nov. 24 under their belt. He could be a name to get to know in March as the NCAA Tournament approaches.

Blake Harper - Howard

Harper didn’t have to go too far to showcase his talent at a Division I program. He’s a former alum of Gonzaga College High in Washington D.C. and is currently a leading name in the Howard Bison rotation in the MEAC. He’s producing 18.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game with the Bison at 3-0 in the conference standings. He’s shooting 38.8 percent from deep and 45.9 percent from the field and has a triple-double and three double-doubles under his belt already in 2024-25. He dropped 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the University of Virginia-Lynchburg back on Dec. 11. He’s due to be a hot commodity very soon with the way the transfer portal rewards prospects as the leading rebounder (132) and free throw maker (117) in the MEAC.

Mister Dean - USC Upstate

USC Upstate has been having a rough go of things in the Big South Conference this season at 1-4 but freshman Mister Dean has been a spark for them, even still. He’s an electric guard prospect who’s already turned heads already with some thunderous dunks. He ranks ninth currently among freshmen in college basketball in scoring with 15.9 points per game along with 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 assists per contest. He’s drawn a lot of attention on the hardwood with his ability to score the ball inside the painted area as he’s shooting 58.8 percent from the field in his first year of college basketball.

Will Sydnor - Manhattan

Sydnor has emerged as quite the anchor in the Manhattan Jaspers frontcourt in the MAAC. He ranks fourth in the conference in blocks (22) and ninth in rebounds (108) as he gets his college career started. He’s putting up 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per game through 16 appearances so far in 2024-25 with the Jaspers. He’s shown he can be quite the stretch-forward in shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from behind the arc in conference play.

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Martin Somerville - UMass Lowell

Somerville has been quite the impactful presence for UMass Lowell as the top reserve to know to kick off his freshman year. He’s producing 13.4 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game in AEC play with most of his production coming off the bench. He’s shooting 30.6 percent from behind the arc with 2.2 makes from deep in conference action. Look for him to raise his stock a bit more as the season progresses.