Cavaliers Now

Reece Beekman Named a Semifinalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

Fresh off of winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, Beekman is one of semifinalists for the National Defensive Player of the Year

Matt Newton

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Fresh off of becoming just the third player to ever win back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards, Virginia guard Reece Beekman picked up another recognition for his defensive prowess, as he was one of ten players in the country named a semifinalist for the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, as announced on Wednesday. 

Beekman was also named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the third-consecutive season after finishing second in the ACC in steals at 2.1 per game and becoming UVA's all-time leader in steals. Fellow Cavalier Ryan Dunn joined him on the ACC All-Defensive Team and Beekman and Dunn finished first and second in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. 

Dunn and Beekman both made the 15-player watchlist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year back in early February and Dunn likely deserved a spot in the top 10 as he leads all major conference players in combined blocks and steals with 114. Unfortunately, teams can only nominate one player for consideration for the award, preventing the Cavaliers from having two players in contention for the national Defensive Player of the Year. 

Here are the 10 semifinalists:

2024 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists

Adrian "Ace" Baldwin Jr. - Penn State
Reece Beekman - Virginia
Johni Broome - Auburn
Devin Carter - Providence
Zach Edey - Purdue
Ryan Kalkbrenner - Creighton
Tamin Lipsey - Iowa State
Kevin McCullar Jr. - Kansas
Jamal Shead - Houston
Zakai Zeigler - Tennessee

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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