By Danielle Daniels
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Texas A&M junior guard Wade Taylor IV was one of 20 players named to the 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year award watch list, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced last week.
Recently tabbed as the preseason SEC Player of the Year, Taylor was also named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list and mentioned on preseason All-America teams from Dick Vitale of ESPN, CBSsports.com, Foxsports.com and Jon Rothstein of CollegeHoops.com.
Taylor, from Dallas is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in 2022-23 that saw him earn first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and by vote of the league coaches. He was also a third-team All-American by Stadium.com’s basketball insider, Jeff Goodman.
Last season, Taylor was one of just three NCAA DI players with 500+ points, 125+ assists and 50+ steals while making 85% or better on free throw attempts. He averaged 16.5 points, which ranked No. 3 in the SEC for the full season, while leading the SEC in free throws made with 168 and free throw percentage with an 87.5% success rate at the line. Additionally, Taylor ranked fourth in assists (136) and fifth in steals (60). He scored a career-high 28 points in the Aggies’ 67-61 win over No. 2 Alabama (March 4, 2023) and had 12 games with 20-or-more points.
2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – Preseason Watch List
Max Abmas, Texas
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
Isaiah Collier, USC
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Boogie Ellis, USC
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Justin Moore, Villanova
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
The 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches – will be announced the week of the 2024 Men’s Final Four. Purdue’s Zach Edey won the award last season, and will seek to become the first repeat winner since Duke’s Jason Williams in 2001 and 2002.
COURTESY TEXAS A&M ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
