Arizona forward Koa Peat was named one of the top 10 freshmen nationally by Andy Katz of NCAA.com. Peat is one of four freshmen in the Big XII named among the top 10 nationally by Katz. A.J. Dybantsa of BYU and Darryn Peterson of Kansas are the only Big XII freshmen ranked ahead of Peat by Katz.
Katz has Dybantsa as his top-ranked freshman nationally entering the 2025-26 season, but the Big XII chose Peterson as their Preseason Freshman of the Year in the conference. Houston center Chris Cenac Jr. is ninth on the NCAA.com top freshman list and Connecticut guard Braylon Mullins is 10th.