Top 125 college players includes Dawson Garcia, 20 other Big Ten stars

Garcia averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season.

Jan 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Dawson Garcia (3) shoots as Iowa Hawkeyes forward Ben Krikke (23) defends during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Dawson Garcia is Minnesota's unquestioned star player in the upcoming 2024-25 college basketball season and he just so happens to be one of the top players in the country.

After average 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season, Garcia can find himself ranked No. 59 in On3's published rankings of the 125 best players in college basketball this season. Where does he rank among the best players in the Big Ten and how many Big Ten players are on the list of 125? Let's check it out....

Rank. Player	Team
15. Dylan Harper	Rutgers
16. Oumar Ballo	Indiana
23. Braden Smith	Purdue
35. Bruce Thornton	Ohio State
40. Ace Bailey	Rutgers
41. Derik Queen	Maryland
45. Great Osobor	Washington
47. Desmond Claude	USC
50. Payton Sandfort	Iowa
59. Dawson Garcia	Minnesota
65. Malik Reneau	Indiana
69. Vlad Goldin	Michigan
76. Ace Baldwin	Penn State
82. Dylan Andrews	UCLA
88. Jackson Shelstad	Oregon
90. Kobe Johnson	UCLA
94. Kasparas Jakucionis	Illinois
100. Danny Wolf	Michigan
107. Kwame Evans	Oregon
116. Brooks Barnhizer	Northwestern
124. Owen Freeman	Iowa

In total, there are 21 players from the Big Ten in On3's top 125.

Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin were completely snubbed with no players making the list.

What does it mean? It means there's a lot of excitement about the two five-star freshmen, Harper and Bailey, at Rutgers. But it also means that big-name players don't move the needle all the time. Consider that Purdue and Indiana are the two highest-ranked (14th and 16th, respectively) Big Ten teams in the preseason top-25 and they only have one player apiece on the list.

The Gophers take on Division III Hamline in an exhibition game Tuesday before opening the regular season Nov. 6 at Williams Arena versus Oral Roberts.