JT Toppin Named Finalist for Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year

BOSTON, Mass. – New Mexico forward JT Toppin was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year Award, CollegeInsider.com announced Wednesday. Toppin is one of 30 freshmen named a finalist for the award, which will be presented next week during the Final Four in Phoenix.

Toppin, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, earned second-team all-conference honors during his first collegiate season. He averaged 12.4 points per game and a conference-best 9.1 rebounds per game. Toppin also led the Mountain West in field goal percentage (.623), blocks (68) and offensive rebounds per game (3.67). His .623 field goal percentage is one of the top 20 highest percentages by a freshman in NCAA history, while he also led all freshmen nationally with 12 double-doubles.

The award is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Kyle Macy played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.

After one season in West Lafayette, Indiana, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky’s 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

2023-24 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year Finalists

Xavier Amos                    6-8         Northern Illinois
Juslin Bodo Bodo            7-0         High Point
Xzayvier Brown               6-2         Saint Joseph’s
Markus Burton                5-11      Notre Dame
Elliot Cadeau                   6-1         North Carolina
Carlton Carrington          6-5         Pittsburgh
Stephon Castle                6-6         Connecticut
Isaiah Collier                    6-5         USC
Rob Dillingham                6-3         Kentucky
David Douglas Jr.             6-5         Green Bay
PJ Haggerty                      6-3         Tulsa
Barrington Hargress       6-0         UC Riverside
Josh Hubbard                  5-10      Mississippi State
Malik Mack                       6-1         Harvard
Sebastian Mack               6-3         UCLA
Jared McCain                   6-3         Duke
Baye Ndongo                   6-9         Georgia Tech
Kevin Overton                 6-5         Drake
Josh Pascarelli                 6-3         Marist
Myles Rice                        6-3         Washington State
Cooper Schwieger           6-9         Valparaiso
Jackson Shelstad             6-0         Oregon
Reed Sheppard                6-3         Kentucky
Javan Simmons                6-7         Toledo
Deywilk Tavarez              6-2         Delaware State
Dedan Thomas Jr.           6-1         UNLV
JT Toppin                          6-9         New Mexico
D.J. Wagner                     6-4         Kentucky
Ja’Kobe Walter                6-5         Baylor
Cody Williams                  6-8         Colorado