Best Mid-Major Players In The 2025 NCAA Tournament

There will be plenty of mid-major players who will make their mark in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Here is a look at just a few of the top players (listed alphabetically).

Nique Clifford, 6-7, Sr. Colorado State

A first-team All-Mountain West selection with an all-around game, Clifford is considered among the top mid-major NBA draft prospects. He is listed as the 39th-best draft prospect by NBAdraft.net. Clifford is averaging 19 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists while shooting .398 from three-point range.

JaKobe Coles, 6-8, Sr. Grand Canyon

A transfer this year from TCU, Coles has found a home at Grand Canyon. He is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. He shoots .770 from the foul line, but just .303 from beyond the arc. Coles was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection. He was this season’s WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.7 points.

Dain Dainja, 6-9, RSr. Memphis

A transfer from Illinois, Dainja earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in his first year with the Tigers. He was also named a member of the AAC All-Tournament Team. This season, he is averaging 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting .615 from the field. His one flaw is free throw shooting (.585), but Dainja is a force inside.

Donovan Dent, 6-2, Jr. New Mexico

A point guard who can dish and score equally, Dent was named the Mountain West Player of the Year. He is averaging 20.6 points, which is eighth nationally, and 6.4 assists. He shoots .415 from three, and .781 from the foul line.

Tyon Grant-Foster, 6-7, Graduate, Grand Canyon

Last season, he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year after transferring from DePaul. This season, he has missed eight games due to injury but was a first-team All-WAC selection. He is averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds. Grant-Foster has had a rough shooting year, .217 from three-point range, but has the ability to take over a game. He was invited to the NBA Draft combine last year before deciding to return to Grand Canyon. Last season, he made a remarkable comeback after missing nearly two years due to a heart condition.

PJ Haggerty, 6-3, R-So. Memphis

A transfer from Tulsa, Haggerty helped Memphis win the American Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament titles. He was the AAC Player of the Year. Haggerty scored 42 points in an 83-80 AAC quarterfinal win over Wichita State. He had a rough shooting game in Memphis’ 78-77 semifinal win over Tulane, but he hit all 14 free throws. Haggerty scored 23 points in Memphis’ 84-72 championship win over UAB and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. This season, Haggerty is averaging 21.8 points (which is third nationally) and 3.7 assists, while shooting .384 from three and .819 from the foul line.

Graham Ike, 6-9, RSr. Gonzaga

The MVP of the West Coast Conference Tournament, Ike is averaging a team-high 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in just 22.5 minutes per game. He is shooting .797 from the foul line.

Augustas Marciulionis, 6-4, Sr. Saint Mary’s

This season, Marciulionis was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He is averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 assists to lead the team in both categories. He shoots .348 from three and .796 from the foul line.

Bez Mbeng, 6-4, Sr. Yale

He is among the top two-way players in the tournament. This season, he was named the Ivy League Player of the Year and also earned his third consecutive Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award. Mbeng is averaging 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game while shooting .371 from deep.

Ryan Nembhard, 6-0, Sr. Gonzaga

Nembhard leads the country in assists, averaging 9.8 per game. He is second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.8). The Gonzaga point guard is averaging 10.8 points per game and is shooting .398 from three-point range. This is his second season at Gonzaga after beginning his career at Creighton.

Jacob Ognacevic, 6-8, Sr. Lipscomb

After missing last year due to injury, Ognacevic was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year. He is the nation’s 17th-leading scorer, averaging 20.1 points. Ognacevic also averages 8.1 rebounds and shoots .402 from deep and .798 from the foul line. He was named to the ASUN All-Tournament team.

John Poulakidas, 6-6, Sr. Yale

The leading scorer for the Bulldogs, he is averaging 19.2 points while shooting .409 from three-point range and .890 from the foul line. He can carry a team with a hot shooting streak as he did last season when he scored 28 points on 10 for 15 shooting, including 6 of 9 from deep as Yale upset Auburn, 78-76, in the NCAA tournament. This season, he was a first-team all-Ivy League selection and was named the Ivy League Tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring 25 points in Yale’s 90-84 title win over Cornell. Poulakidas carried the Bulldogs in the second half when he scored 23 points and hit all seven of his field goal attempts, including five three-pointers.

Max Shulga, 6-5, Sr. VCU

Hailing from Kyiv, Ukraine, Shulga was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in his second season with the Rams after beginning his career at Utah State. This season, he is averaging 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting .386 from three and .786 from the foul line. He scored 18 points during VCU’s 66-63 win over George Mason in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship.

Bennett Stirtz, 6-4, Jr., Drake

Stirtz was the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the Year and was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the MVC Tournament after Drake beat Bradley, 63-48 in the final. This is his first year at Drake after spending his first two seasons at Northwest Missouri State. Stirtz is averaging 19.1 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting .386 from three and .795 from the foul line.

Marquel Sutton, 6-9, Sr. Omaha

Sutton earned the Summit League’s Player of the Year honors. He is averaging 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting .744 from the foul line. His one weakness has been a .292 three-point field goal percentage. Sutton also earned the Summit League Tournament Championship MVP after scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in the Mavericks’ 85-75 win over St. Thomas.

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, 6-6, Sr. UC San Diego 

This season, the swingman was named the Big West Player of the Year. He is averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Tait-Jones has only attempted 48 three-pointers and is shooting .313 from deep and .758 from the foul line. He was also named the Big West Tournament MVP after totaling 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in the Tritons’ 75-61 championship win over UC Irvine.

Ray’Sean Taylor Taylor, 6-1, Graduate, SIU Edwardsville

Taylor became SIUE’s all-time leading scorer after his 20-point performance in the Cougars’ 69-48 win over Southeast Missouri in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship. He now has 1,952 points. Taylor earned the tournament MVP award. He was earlier named the OVC Player of the Year. Taylor is averaging 19.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. He is shooting .346 from deep and .846 from the foul line.

Earl Timberlake, 6-6, RSr. Bryant

This season, Timberlake was the America East Player of the Year after being a first-team all-conference selection last year. Timberlake is averaging 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting .360 from deep and .719 from the foul line. He was also named the Reggie Lewis Tournament Most Outstanding Player after totaling 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocked shots in a 77-59 title game win over Maine.