THE LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD

March 25, 2024

2024 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALSISTS
Presented annually to the top defensive player in division I college basketball.

BOSTON, MA -- The 25 finalists for the 2023-24 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award have been announced. The award is presented annually to the top defensive player in division I college basketball.

The Lefty Driesell award is named in honor of the legendary coach who spent over four decades as a head coach.

Driesell won 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, and Georgia State. He ranks eighth on the NCAA career Division I coaches victories list and his teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense. From 1969-1986 at Maryland, his teams posted a 348-159 record, won two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and one tournament title.

Driesell also led Davidson, Georgia State and James Madison to the NCAA tournament, making him one of three coaches to reach the NCAAs with four different programs. His teams won a total of 16 regular season championships and six tournament championships.

Charles “Lefty” Driesell passed away on Feb. 17, 2024. He was 92.

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.

The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, AZ, site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

2024 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS

Justin Abson

6-9

Appalachian State

Adrian "Ace" Baldwin Jr.

6-1

Penn State

Reece Beekman

6-3

Virginia

Adem Bona

6-10

UCLA

Boo Buie

6-2

Northwestern

Johni Broome

6-10

Auburn

Devin Carter

6-3

Providence

Isaiah Cozart

6-7

Eastern Kentucky

Isaiah Crawford

6-6

Louisiana Tech

Ryan Dunn

6-8

Virginia

Zach Edey

7-4

Purdue

KiAndre Gaddy

6-6

Tarleton State

Andersson Garcia

6-7

Texas A&M

Dajuan Harris Jr.

6-2

Kansas

DaRon Holmes II

6-10

Dayton

Ryan Kalkbrenner

7-1

Creighton

Malevy Leons

6-9

Bradley

Tamin Lipsey

6-1

Iowa State

Bez Mbeng

6-4

Yale

Clifford Omoruyi

6-11

Rutgers

Jamal Shead

6-1

Houston

Charles Thompson

6-7

Towson

Kellen Tynes, Jr.

6-3

Maine

Amari Williams

6-10

Drexel

Zakai Zeigler

5-9

Tennessee

 

The Lefty Driesell Award, given annually to the top defensive player in Division I basketball, is named in honor of the legendary former coach. 
 
Driesell won 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State. He ranks eighth on the NCAA career Division I coaches victories list and his teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense. From 1969-1986 at Maryland, his teams posted a 348-159 record, won two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and one tournament title.
 
Driesell also led Davidson, Georgia State and James Madison to the NCAA tournament, making him one of three coaches to reach the NCAAs with four different programs. His teams won a total of 16 regular season championships and six tournament championships.
 
The recipient of the 2023-24 award will be announced in April, in Phoenix, AZ site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 
 

The Lefty Driesell award is presented annually to the top defensive player in division I college basketball, as voted on by the award committee.

The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 

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