April 2, 2026

DUKE’S CAMERON BOOZER RECIPIENT OF 2026 KYLE MACY AWARD
The top freshman in division I college basketball

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Duke’s Cameron Boozer is the recipient of the 2026 Kyle Macy award, which is presented annually to the top freshman in division I college basketball.

Boozer finished the season, ranked 9th in the country with 22.5 point per game, and 13th in rebounding with 10.2, while shooting 55.6% from the field. The 6-foot-9 freshman also averaged 4.1 assists per game, becoming the first rookie to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists since Larry Bird in 1976-77.

“In one of the best freshmen classes in history, Cameron Boozer was head and shoulders above the rest,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of College Insider, Inc. and member of the Kyle Macy award voting panel. “The statistics are impressive, but his pension for making winning plays and doing whatever the team needs to be successful are what make him the best player in college basketball.”

Boozer began his collegiate experience with a bang. Through his first five games he had 108 points, 52 rebounds, and 23 assists becoming the first ACC player with at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a five-game span since Craig Smith of Boston College in March 2006.

In the fourth game of the season against Indiana State (Nov. 14), he finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, becoming the first major conference freshman to reach 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no more than one turnover since Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2003. He scored 35 against Arkansas (Nov. 27), becoming the first Duke freshman to score 35 points or more twice in a season.

He needed just 16 career games to record 300+ points, 150+ rebounds and 50+ assists. That is the second fewest needed by any player this century, as LSU’s Ben Simmons reached those figures in 15 games 10 years ago in 2015-16.

The ten-time ACC Rookie of the Week is the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to record at least 700 points, 300 rebounds and 100 assists while shooting better than 50% from the field in a single regular season.

He has had at least 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 38 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century.

Boozer finished with 22 total double-doubles and 15 with at least 20 points.

He became just the fifth player in ACC history to earn the Player and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season, joining former Duke standouts Cooper Flagg (2025), Zion Williamson (2019), Marvin Bagley III (2018), and Jahlil Okafor (2015).

Boozer is seventh Duke player to be named the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the year, joining Cooper Flagg (2025), Kyle Filipowski (2023), Zion Williamson (2019), Marvin Bagley III (2018), Brandon Ingram (2016), and Jabari Parker (2014).

The award is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Kyle Macy played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.

After one season in West Lafayette, Indiana, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

  KYLE MACY AWARD FINALISTS

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS
Cooper Flagg, Duke (2025); PJ Haggerty, Tulsa (2024); Kyle Filipowski, Duke (2023); Malaki Branham, Ohio State (2022); Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (2021); Anthony Edwards, Georgia (2020); Zion Williamson, Duke (2019); Marvin Bagley III, Duke (2018); Justin Patton, Creighton (2017); Brandon Ingram, Duke (2016); D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015); Jabari Parker, Duke (2014); Anthony Bennett, UNLV (2013); Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2012).

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NOTE: Portions of the press release came from Duke University releases.