The kids can play.
Keaton Wagler (Illinois), AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Kingston Flemings (Houston) put together three of the best freshman performances in recent college basketball memory, all on the same day.
Wagler was the highlight of the standout showings, dropping an absurd 46 points to lead Illinois to an upset of top-five Purdue.
Dybantsa, an expected top-three NBA pick, dropped 43 points as BYU handled Utah.
Flemings put up 42 points, but it was for naught as the Cougars fell to Texas Tech.
It’s just a reminder of how ridiculous this class is.
There hadn’t been a freshman scoring day like this in a long time, if ever:
Keaton Wagler: 46 points
AJ Dybantsa: 43 points
Kingston Flemings: 42 pointsPer ESPN Research, this is the first day in at least the last 20 seasons in which *multiple* DI freshmen have scored 40 points in a game — and there’s been THREE of them.
A truly generational class.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) January 25, 2026
They didn’t even require the likes of Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Darryn Peterson, Nate Ament or Mikel Brown to make this happen.
And these weren’t small school freshmen, either. These were guys at some of the biggest and best programs in the country having big days.
They’re only getting better as the year goes on, which is scary for everyone else. And the NBA sure is ready to welcome these studs with open arms.
