These players were all over the court last season and have a chance to prove themselves even further, all vying for defensive player of the year awards. Here's a list of the top defenders in men's college basketball ahead of the 2023-24 season.
1. Zach Edey, Purdue: He blocks shots — 72 last season. But he alters more. Opposing defenses have to deal with his size and immovability on every possession.
2. Jamal Shead, Houston: He was the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year. Kelvin Sampson is all about defense and Shead will help the Cougars compete near the top of the Big 12.
3. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton: He’s a two-time Big East defensive player of the year. He’s a tremendous rim protector and can create plenty of fast breaks for the high-flying Bluejays.
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4. Lamont Butler, San Diego State: Butler was the Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year, hit a game-winning shot to beat Florida Atlantic in the Final Four and is back to do it all again.
5. Adem Bona, UCLA: Jaylen Clark was the best defender in the Pac-12 last season, prior to his injury. Bona looks to pick up where Clark left off — he was a consistent defensive presence throughout the season and has a good shot to be the Pac-12 defensive player of the year.
6. Ace Baldwin, Penn State: Baldwin was the A-10 defensive player of the year at VCU and now he’s got a shot to do the same in the Big Ten. He will orchestrate Mike Rhoades' defense in State College just like he did in Richmond.
7. Jesse Edwards, West Virginia: Edwards was a top-10 shot blocker for Syracuse. He will do the same for the Mountaineers.
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8. Dajuan Harris, Kansas: Harris had 78 steals last season. He’s the point person for Bill Self’s defense. He will be the first stop gap before players get to Hunter Dickinson.
9. Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee: He’s a pest — in a good way. He’s ball hawking and all over the court, creating havoc to jump start the Vols’ defense.
10. Jaelen House, New Mexico: House was fifth in the country in steals at 86 last year. If the Lobos are going to get to the NCAA tournament this season, House will have to duplicate that effort again.
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