By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
Duke star freshman Cameron Boozer is The Associated Press player of the year for the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the top-ranked Blue Devils’ Jon Scheyer is league coach of the year.
The AP announced its individual awards and all-ACC honors Tuesday for the 2025-26 season after voting by 18 media members covering the league. The list included Miami’s Malik Reneau as transfer of the year.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Boozer was the unanimous choice for player of the year as well as freshman of the year, the standout at the heart of Duke’s climb to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 as the ACC Tournament arrives this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. Boozer entered the week ranked sixth nationally in scoring (22.7) and 13th in rebounding (10.2), while his passing has stood out against constant double teams (4.1 assists).
Boozer is also shooting 58.3% from the field, 40.7% from 3-point range and 78% from the foul line.
Scheyer entered this year as the first coach to twice win the ACC Tournament in his first three seasons. The Blue Devils were picked to win the league again and are the top seed, but what’s stood out is the way they have progressed since mid-January.
Duke has developed into an elite defensive team, ranking No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency by allowing 87.8 points per 100 possessions to enter the week. But Scheyer has also proven flexible, pivoting from his preferred style of switching defensively while leaning into the interior edge with Boozer, Patrick Ngongba II and Maliq Brown to pummel opponents in the paint a year after reaching the Final Four with a perimeter-driven lineup.
As for Reneau, the 6-9 senior has been a key piece of the Hurricanes’ quick start under first-year coach Jai Lucas. Reneau had averaged 11.4 points in three seasons at Indiana but has blossomed with career-best averages of 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 55.9% on higher-volume usage for the Hurricanes.
North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson and Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie joined Boozer in making freshmen the top three vote-getters on the AP all-ACC teams. UNC, Louisville and Miami each had two selections on the 11-player squad.
First team
u-Cameron Boozer, Duke, 6-9, 250, Fr., Miami
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 6-10, 215, Fr., Atlanta
Ebuka Okorie, Stanford, 6-2, 185, Fr., Nashua, New Hampshire
Boopie Miller, SMU, 6-0, 175, Sr., Chicago
Malik Reneau, Miami, 6-9, 238, Sr., Miami
u-unanimous selection.
Second team
Juke Harris, Wake Forest, 6-7, 200, So., Salisbury, North Carolina
Ryan Conwell, Louisville, 6-4, 215, Sr., Indianapolis
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 6-9, 238, Fr., Brasschaat, Belgium
Henri Veesaar, North Carolina, 7-0, 225, Jr., Tallinn, Estonia
t-Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 6-5, 190, Fr., Orlando, Florida
t-Tre Donaldson, Miami, 6-3, 198, Sr., Tallahassee, Florida
t-tied for final spot.
Individual honors
Coach of the year – Jon Scheyer, Duke.
Player of the year – Boozer, Duke.
Freshman of the year – Boozer, Duke.
Transfer of the year – Reneau, Miami.
Voting panel
Lia Assimakopoulos, The Dallas Morning News; Mark Berman, The Roanoke (Virginia) Times; Eric Crawford, WDRB, Louisville, Kentucky; Donna Ditota, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York; Chapel Fowler, The State of Columbia, South Carolina; Luke Hancock, ACC Network; John Johnson II, WXII, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Chris Lea, WRAL, Raleigh, North Carolina; Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald; Ryan Kelly, WCTV, Tallahassee, Florida; Greg Madia, The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia; Brendan Marks, The Athletic; Kevin McNamara, WPRO, Providence, Rhode Island; Tom Noie, South Bend (Indiana) Tribune; Terrence Oglesby, ESPN/ACC Network/Field of 68; Kelly Quinlan, Rivals/On3; Kate Rogerson, WTVD, Durham, North Carolina; Abby Schnable, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.