TUCSON, Ariz. – The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the Mid-Season Top 10 Candidates for the 2026 Jerry West Award on Tuesday and Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries was among those listed.
 
Burries was one of 25 players listed on the preseason watch list for the award and has helped propel Arizona to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the last eight weeks and a school-record 22-0 record to start the season.
 
The Wildcats leading scorer so far this season, Burries is averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in addition to 1.6 steals and a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is shooting 50.2% from the floor and 37.1% from the 3-point line and is second on the team with 35 steals. Earlier this week, he was named Big 12 Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week and was one of five players recognized as National Player of the Week by the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy after leading the Wildcats to road wins at No. 13 BYU and Arizona State.
 
In mid-March, the Mid-Season Top 10 list will be narrowed to just five, and in late March, five finalists will be presented to West's family and the Hall of Fame selection committees, where winners will be selected. The selection committees for the Jerry West Award are composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
 
The winner of the Jerry West Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with four other members of the Men's Starting Five.
 
Previous winners of the Jerry West Award include Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (2025), RJ Davis, North Carolina (2024), Marcus Sasser, Houston (2023), Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016), and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
 
The complete 2026 Jerry West Award Mid-Season Watch List includes:
Brayden Burries, Arizona
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Richie Saunders, BYU
Isaiah Evans, Duke
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Solo Ball, UConn
Duke Miles, Vanderbilt
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
 
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