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2026 Wooden Award Odds: College Basketball Player of the Year Tracker

Ian Jones

By Ian Jones

Updated:


  • The John R. Wooden Award is given annually to the most outstanding college basketball players of the year
  • Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Purdue’s Braden Smith are the early men’s basketball favorites
  • Track the odds movement for all major contenders throughout the 2025-26 Men’s College Basketball season

Odds to win the 2026 Wooden Award are now open! The Wooden Award is given out every year to recognize the most outstanding college basketball players and going into the 2025-26 NCAA Men’s College Basketball season, the early favorites are Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Purdue guard Braden Smith, and Duke forward Cameron Boozer.

We’re tracking the odds movement for the 2026 Wooden Award all season long! The table below details the latest odds to win the 2026 Wooden Award , while the graphs show the average odds for all major contenders as they rise and fall throughout the season.

2026 Wooden Award Odds

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2026 Wooden Award Favorites

PlayerSchoolOdds
Darryn PetersonKansas+650
Braden SmithPurdue+750
Cameron BoozerDuke+900
AJ DybantsaBYU+1000
JT ToppinTexas Tech+1200
Yaxel LendeborgMichigan+1400
Koa PeatArizona+2000
Donovan DentUCLA+2200
Otega OwehKentucky+2500
Darrion WilliamsNC State+2500

Odds as of November 6th at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Wooden Award Odds Movement Timeline

  • November 6 – It only took five days, but we’ve got a new Wooden Award favorite! The Kansas Jayhawks’ Darryn Peterson is now averaging +675, after putting up 21 points in the season opener.
  • November 1 – Days before the start of the 2025-26 NCAA Men’s Basketball season, Purdue’s Smith Braden (+500) sits as favorite to win the 2026 Wooden Award, followed by Duke’s Cameron Boozer (+850), and TTU’s JT Toppin (+1100).

Past 10 Wooden Award Winners

SeasonWinnerSchoolClassPosition
2024-25Cooper FlaggDukeFreshmanSG/SF
2023-24Zach EdeyPurdueSeniorC
2022-23Zach EdeyPurdueJuniorC
2021-22Oscar TshiebweKentuckyJuniorC
2020-21Luka GarzaIowaSeniorC
2019-20Obi ToppinDaytonSophmorePF
2018-19Zion WilliamsonDukeFreshmanSF/PF
2017-18Jalen BrunsonVillanovaJuniorPG
2016-17Frank Mason IIIKansasSeniorPG
2015-16Buddy HieldOklahomaSeniorSG

Archived Wooden Award odds:

Ian Jones
Ian Jones

MLB, NFL & MLS Writer

With a background in content marketing, literature, and design, Ian has been bringing a little bit of everything to SBD since 2021. In addition to having penned articles for Eighty-Six Forever, Ian can and will talk your ear off over almost any sport you can think of.

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