Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard named to Wooden Award midseason watchlist

Bulldogs senior guard leads the country in assists

Gonzaga senior guard Ryan Nembhard. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga men's basketball senior Ryan Nembhard was among the 25 players named to the 2025 Wooden Award midseason watchlist, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday.

Nembhard has made a strong case to take home serious hardware at the end of the season through his brilliant playmaking to start the 2024-25 campaign. Through 16 games he's No. 1 in the country with 153 assists, as he became the first player in Division I to reach 100 assists and the fastest to 100 assists in a season in program history. Nembhard's 4.03 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth-best in the country.

Nembhard has reached double-figure assists on nine different occasions this season, including when he dished out a career-high 14 dimes in Gonzaga's 89-73 win over Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis event. That set a tournament record, as well as his 39 assists over the three-day event, which was the most by an individual player in that span.

Nembhard is putting up 11.6 points, 9.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds while adding 1.8 steals per game. He's shooting 42.9% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range and 84% from the free-throw line. Nembhard is also second in the West Coast Conference in minutes per game (35.7).

"This dude's the mailman," ESPN college basketball analyst and former coach Seth Greenberg said of Nembhard. "He just delivers. He delivers every single time down the floor. You talk about a guy who makes the game easier for others."

Nembhard was tabbed to the preseason watchlist, which featured 50 players, on Nov. 7. He's also in contention for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award and the Naismith Trophy. Players not selected for the mid-season list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award late-season list.

2024-25 Wooden Award Midseason Top 25

Airious "Ace" Bailey, Rutgers
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
RJ Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Kasparas Jakučionis, Illinois
Tre Johnson, Texas
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Alex Karaban, UConn
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Derik Queen, Maryland
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Gonzaga among three WCC teams in CBS Sports field

• NET Rankings update: Gonzaga back in the Top 5

• WCC basketball power rankings: Gonzaga, Washington State set to duel for No. 1 spot

• Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga moves up in AP Top 25 poll

• NCAA to discuss 5th year of eligibility for all sports in 2025

• How to watch every Gonzaga WCC men's basketball game in 2025

• ESPN Bracketology projects San Francisco will win WCC over Gonzaga

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Instagram and Twitter.