More than 1,000 Division I freshmen have appeared in at least one men's college basketball game this season. As of Tuesday morning, 748 had scored at least 10 points for the year, while 62 were averaging at least 10 points per game.

Can't fit all of them in our top 10 for Freshman of the Year rankings, though.

These freshmen are ranked based on a combination of individual production and team success. But unlike with National Player of the Year rankings where it takes a considerable amount of team success to be legitimately considered, it's much more of a perk than a prerequisite here. Team success can provide a rankings boost to players from Baylor and Kentucky without penalizing freshmen thriving for the likes of Georgia Tech, UNLV and Tulsa.

One thing that doesn't factor into the rankings, though, is NBA draft stock. It might be mentioned where applicable, but by no means should this be viewed as some kind of draft big board of top freshmen.

Statistics current through the start of play Wednesday.

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order): Carlton Carrington (Pittsburgh), Stephon Castle (Connecticut), Mason Falslev (Utah State), Aden Holloway (Auburn), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Malik Mack (Harvard), Jared McCain (Duke), Myles Rice (Washington State), JT Toppin (New Mexico), DJ Wagner (Kentucky)

The 3 'Freshman-Year Donovan Clingan/Zach Edey' All-Stars

It seems like every year there are a couple of part-time, first-year big men who put up monster numbers on a "per 40 minutes" basis while only playing around 15 minutes per game. They then inevitably get labeled as breakout candidates heading into the following season, even though they were clearly already quite dominant as freshmen.

Let's get ahead of the curve and pre-nominate those three players as 2024-25 breakout sensations, assuming they come back for a sophomore year. These big men are putting up big numbers, but aren't playing quite enough to land in our top 10:

Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
13.5 MPG, 7.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.9 BPG, 27.3 PER, 8.3 BPM
Per 40: 23.4 points, 14.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks

Braden Huff, Gonzaga
15.1 MPG, 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 31.0 PER, 7.8 BPM
Per 40: 27.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks

Owen Freeman, Iowa
18.6 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 29.1 PER, 8.8 BPM
Per 40: 22.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, 2.4 steals

At least Freeman finally landed a starting gig about a month ago, including a 14-point, 13-rebound, three-block performance last week against Wisconsin. Iowa's latest star in a lineage that includes Luka Garza and the Murray twins is now getting enough playing time that he could easily surge into the top 10 here before the season ends.

Meanwhile, both Krivas and Huff are still coming off the bench, and mostly doing their damage against non-marquee opponents—in part because Oumar Ballo and Graham Ike are getting as much playing time as they can handle in those games. But they both have excellent PER and per-40 numbers.

10. Dedan Thomas Jr., UNLV

Season Stats: 12.4 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 39.5% 3PT

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

Dedan Thomas Sr. was the point guard at UNLV back in Jerry Tarkanian's final season at the helm in the early 1990s. And the following year, he darn near led the nation in assists per game.

Like father, like son.

Dedan Thomas Jr. has tallied at least five dimes in 12 of UNLV's 14 games this season and is averaging nearly three assists (88) per turnover (31).

In the Rebels' big win over Creighton last month, Thomas had 16 points, nine assists and no turnovers. (He also had a 9-0 ratio in an early win over Stetson.) And though he did have three giveaways Tuesday night against New Mexico, he was gigantic in that win, finishing with 14 points, seven assists and a pair of steals.

It was Thomas' ninth game already with at least a dozen points and five assists.

He is leading all freshmen in assists per game and sits just outside the top 10 nationally if you remove the "freshmen" qualifier.

UNLV took some early lumps against a moderately difficult nonconference slate, but the Rebels have already shown they can be a problem in MWC play with this first-year point guard running the show.

9. Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State

Season Stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, 41.3% 3PT

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

Heading into Tuesday night, Milan Momcilovic was going to be an honorable mention, narrowly missing the cut for the second straight iteration of this ranking.

But between his late-game heroics in Iowa State's colossal win over Houston and Carlton Carrington (previously in our top 10) struggling in Pitt's blowout loss to Duke, it wasn't a difficult decision to bump the Cyclone ahead of the Panther.

Momcilovic hit what proved to be the game-winning bucket against the previously unbeaten Cougars, as well as two free throws on the following possession to ice the victory.

The young man is something of an undersized Dirk Nowitzki. He's four inches shorter than the Hall of Famer from Germany, but the high release on Momcilovic's mid-range, one-footed fadeaway only has so many NBA comps.

He's also an outstanding free-throw shooter and an above-average three-point shooter who averages just under five attempts per game.

He's still rounding out the rest of his game, though. Momcilovic isn't a great defender—at least compared to some of the defensive forces that Iowa State has—rebounder or passer. But he sure can stroke it.

8. Yves Missi, Baylor

Season Stats: 10.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.0 SPG

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

When initially putting this list together Tuesday morning, I was ready to move Yves Missi all the way up to No. 2.

That's because in his first three games played after our previous ranking, he went for 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a hard-fought loss to Duke, had 16 points and five boards in a rout of Cornell and another double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds plus three steals) in the Big 12 opening win at Oklahoma State.

After we bemoaned the lack of dominant first-year big men a few weeks ago, he answered the call in a major way. At the time, he had the highest PER (31.4) among all freshmen, as well as a 10.3 BPM that ranked second among freshmen, behind only Kentucky's Reed Sheppard (15.0).

But then Tuesday's game against BYU happened.

Baylor got the W, but Missi took a huge L in these rankings with a "Tony Snell meme"-like stat line of 24 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 3 fouls.

Now, he did still play great defense, even if there weren't any blocks or steals. BYU's pair of 6'11" starters (Noah Waterman and Aly Khalifa) combined for three points in 41 minutes played. But making just no impact in the box score in a game of that magnitude is hard to ignore.

7. PJ Haggerty, Tulsa

Season Stats: 17.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.3 SPG

Previous Rank: 9

In our previous top 10 loaded with 5-star, NBA-draft-caliber prospects and/or guys putting up big numbers for major-conference teams, Tulsa's PJ Haggerty undoubtedly elicited the biggest "I'm sorry, who is that?" response from our dear readers. The Golden Hurricane aren't going to make the NCAA tournament and hadn't even faced a top-100 opponent at that point.

But Haggerty has only gotten better since then, averaging 23.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists over his next three games, including scoring 27 in what was almost an incredible come-from-behind win over Memphis.

This 6'3" guard who is just 8-for-34 from three-point range on the season does most of his damage in the paint and from the free-throw line. Case in point: Haggerty's 24-point performance against Missouri consisted of six layups, a pair of two-point jumpers and eight made free throws. Fittingly, he won the game for Tulsa with an and-one layup with three seconds remaining.

He's also one of the better ball-hawking guards in the country with at least one steal in every game played.

Just do yourself a favor and make sure to watch the Tulsa-Florida Atlantic game on Feb. 3. FAU has already had some seriously questionable losses this season, and Haggerty may well out-shine Nelly Davis and foul out Vlad Goldin in another Owls upset.

6. Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech

Season Stats: 12.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.1 APG

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

Baye Ndongo missed the first three games of the regular season with a hand injury but was immediately put in the starting lineup once he was able to play.

By game No. 3, he had already made a huge impact, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and four blocks in a stunning Dec. 2 victory over Duke. However, it took about a month before Ndongo started to consistently deliver at a high level.

Dating back to mid-December, Georgia Tech's gifted big man has averaged 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, tallying at least 10 and 8 in each of those seven contests.

At 6'9" with legitimate range on his shot—he hit the three that sent Tuesday night's game against Notre Dame to overtime—solid defensive instincts and good hops, I've got to say I am shocked that Ndongo hasn't been skyrocketing (or, heck, even getting mentioned) in the NBA mock draft community. Seems like the exact type of player the Association can't wait to get its hands on. (See: Ryan Dunn as a possible lottery pick.)

But perhaps Ndongo just hasn't caught their eye yet.

With games against Duke, Clemson and North Carolina in the next three weeks, though, that could change in a big way.

5. Jackson Shelstad, Oregon

Season Stats: 14.8 PPG, 2.9 APG, 2.3 RPG, 43.5% 3PT

Previous Rank: Not Mentioned

Another freshman who had a delayed start to the year, Jackson Shelstad missed Oregon's first four games with a knee injury and wasn't completely up to speed yet when the Ducks—at that point also still adjusting to life without both big men N'Faly Dante and Nate Bittle due to their early injuries—suffered their back-to-back losses to Santa Clara and Alabama in late November.

Since inserting Shelstad into the starting lineup, though, he has averaged 16.1 points and 3.2 assists while Oregon has gone 8-1 to storm into the projected NCAA tournament field.

Already in Pac-12 play, Shelstad has gone up against USC's Isaiah Collier and UCLA's Sebastian Mack and was pretty clearly the better, more impactful player, putting up 41 points between those two victories.

Quite a few big games left in January for Shelstad to potentially make a run to the top of this ranking. Oregon plays at Colorado and Utah next week and hosts Arizona on the 27th.

4. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky

Season Stats: 14.4 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 44.4% 3PT

Previous Rank: 4

Kentucky's first two SEC games really showcased the duality of Rob Dillingham.

The first game against Florida? Not great, Rob! He had four turnovers in the first half and finished the afternoon with six points—just the second time he has been held below a dozen. The Wildcats were very fortunate to get that road win in spite of his struggles.

But in the second game against Missouri? Dillingham went HAM, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and finishing with a career-high 23 points. He also had a pair of assists and a pair of steals, making a huge impact in his 19 minutes on the floor.

Typically, he has been more of the latter than the former, a spark plug who comes off the bench, ready to shoot like there's no tomorrow. But even his 'heat-check' shots are high-quality looks, so it never feels like he's forcing anything.

On a per-40 basis, Dillingham is averaging roughly 26 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

3. Isaiah Collier, USC

Season Stats: 15.6 PPG, 4.3 APG, 2.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 31.9% 3PT

Previous Rank: 2

It has been a rough year for USC, entering play on Wednesday at 8-7 after opening the season at No. 21 in the AP poll.

And in those seven losses, Isaiah Collier—the possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft—has struggled. Sometimes it's turnovers. On other nights, he gets into foul trouble, or simply needs a lot of shots to reach his scoring average.

(In fairness, in each of the five most recent losses, USC's defense allowed at least 82 points while third-leading scorer Kobe Johnson was held to eight points or fewer. And in USC's first loss of the season, both Johnson and leading scorer Boogie Ellis were out, so it's hard to fault Collier for perhaps overly pushing the issue in those games.)

But when even moderately efficient Collier shows up, the Trojans are a different team, sitting at a perfect 8-0 when he posts an O-rating north of 100.

That includes the recent home sweep of soon-headed-to-the-ACC Cal and Stanford, in which Collier had two of his most efficient performances of the season with a combined 39 points (on 27 shots) and 11 assists with just two turnovers.

All eyes will be on next Wednesday's trip to Arizona. If Collier shines against the likes of Caleb Love, Kylan Boswell and Pelle Larsson, that would provide a huge boost to his case for Freshman of the Year.

2. Ja'Kobe Walter, Baylor

Season Stats: 15.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 40.0% 3PT

Previous Rank: 3

It's a shame that most of Ja'Kobe Walter's most prolific performances have come against Baylor's weakest opponents. He lit up each of UMKC, Oregon State, Mississippi Valley State and Cornell for at least 23 points...in games that virtually no one watched.

But he did open the season with a sensational 28-point performance in a win over Auburn. And he was big early on in Tuesday night's key win over BYU, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the first half, carrying a struggling offense through the first 20 minutes just well enough for Jalen Bridges to take the game over after the intermission.

Walter's three-point stroke is a thing of beauty. Already this season, he has made at least four triples on six occasions. Houston's LJ Cryer is most likely going to lead the Big 12 in made threes this season, but Walter might finish at No. 2 on that list.

In addition to the shooting, Walter has plus defensive instincts. He isn't racking up steals quite like we thought he might, but he can absolutely impact the game on that end of the floor.

1. Reed Sheppard, Kentucky

Season Stats: 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 53.6% 3PT

Previous Rank: 1

It feels a little weird having Reed Sheppard at No. 1 fresh off his least impactful performance of the season—three points, four assists, two steals in Tuesday's win over Missouri.

It's not like he played poorly, though. He only attempted four shots and committed no turnovers. He was simply content to defer to his many teammates having a good night.

It's also not like this was even remotely a close competition prior to Tuesday.

Sheppard is maybe the purest shooter in the nation (regardless of age), a willing passer (almost to a fault) and an outstanding defender with multiple steals in all but one game.

He was the no-brainer No. 1 in our Dec. 20 F.O.Y. rankings, and then went out and got his first double-double (11 points, 11 assists) the following day at Louisville. He was also clutch in Kentucky's SEC opening win at Florida, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 20 seconds to keep the Gators at bay.

So, a meager three points in the win over Missouri? No big deal. Sheppard instead will just show up in a big way the next time the Wildcats need him.