PROVO, Utah – The preseason accolades continue to roll in for BYU’s Robert Wright III as the junior was named to Jersey Mike’s Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List prior to the Cougars season opener against Ohio State on Monday.
Wright III is one of 10 players represented on the list joined by Arizona’s Caleb Holt, Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas, Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey, Arizona State’s Paulius Murauskas, Kansas’ Trey Kaufman-Renn and Tyran Stokes, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin and Houston’s Joseph Tugler.
The 6-foot-1 point guard from Wilmington, Del. is the top returning scorer for a BYU team that went 23-12 in 2025-26 advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a 33rd time in program history. He averaged 18.1 points per game as he scored in double figures in 32 of 35 stats shooting a career-high best 46.7 percent from the field, 41.0 percent from the field and 82.1 percent from the free throw line.
He scored in double figures in 32 of his 35 starts during his first season in Provo including a pair of 30-point performances highlighted by a career-high 30 points in BYU’s overtime victory over Colorado on Valentine’s Day. His 632 points are tied for the 20th most points scored in a single season in program history.
Wright III didn’t just score for the Cougars as his team-high 162 assists are the 10th most in single season in program history. Both of his double-doubles came at the home of the Utah Jazz including 10-point, 11-rebound performance in a 28-point victory over No. 23 Wisconsin.