Cade Cunningham Named to Naismith Trophy Watch List

Cade Cunningham’s college career starts Wednesday, and he is picking up a few more preseason honors on the week leading up to it.

Cunningham, a freshman at Oklahoma State, was one of 50 players named on the Naismith Trophy’s preseason watch list. The Atlanta Tipoff Club gives out the award annually to the college basketball’s top player.

Cunningham won the 2020 Naismith High School Player of the Year award. If he won the 2021 college award, he would join Shane Battier as the only players to ever win both.

No OSU player has ever won the Naismith Award.

This adds to the list of accolades Cunningham has amassed before he has even logged a college minute. He is already a preseason All-American, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, the Big 12’s preseason Freshman of the Year, CBS Sports’ national preseason Freshman of the Year, and that’s just the name a few.

Cunningham joins Greg Brown (Texas), Jared Butler (Baylor), Marcus Garrett (Kansas), MaCio Teague (Baylor) and Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia) as Big 12 players on the Naismith watch list.

The list will be cut down to 30 players in February. Ten semifinalists will be named March 4, and four finalists will be named March 16. The award will be handed out April 4.

Cunningham and the Cowboys start their season Wednesday with a road game against UT-Arlington.