Arizona gets 3 in ESPN midseason top 50 men's college basketball players

Jaden Bradley, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat are all in the ESPN "Ranking the top 50 men's college basketball players at midseason." Bradley is 21st, Burries is 33rd and Peat is 35th in the ESPN Midseason ran

Myron Medcalf noted Peat was an elite freshman from day one with 30 points on 11 out of 18 from the field with seven rebounds and five assists in the 93-87 season-opening win for Arizona over defending National Champion Florida.

Medcalf continued that Peat has experienced the growing pains that most freshmen endure. In the eight games before Arizona won 86-83 at BYU on Monday, Peat averaged 16.1 points per game and shot 60 percent on two-point field goal attempts per Medcalf.

Medcalf praised Burries for finding his role with Arizona. Burries is averaging 14.6 PPG, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals as noted by Medcalfe. Medcalfe added that "Burries is a projected first-round draft pick because of his versatility and all-around talent."

Brayden Burries growth after five games

Since getting off to a slow start in the first five games of the season, Burries is averaging 17.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.6 SPG. Over that span, Burries has arguably been the best player for Arizona. Burries has seven 20-point games in 2025-26, with all of them in the last 16 games.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN called Bradley the head of the snake for Arizona at both ends of the floor. Borzello mentioned the performances that Bradley had in the clutch, helping Arizona to close wins over Connecticut and Florida that established him as one of the best point guards nationally.

Borzello continued that Bradley is averaging 14.0 PPG and 4.4 APG after scoring 26 against BYU on Monday and that he ranks in the top 10 in the Big XII in steal percentage. Bradley has thrived in clutch time, defined as a six-point game with five minutes or less left in the game.

In six clutch time games for Arizona in 2025-26, Bradley is averaging 3.8 points in clutch time while shooting 69.2 percent from the field, 50.0 percent on three-point attempts and 100.0 percent from the free throw line. With the game on the line, Bradley is the primary ball handler for Arizona.

Bradley, Burries and Peat will almost certainly finish in the top 35 players at the end of the season. Bradley and Burries carried Arizona in the win over BYU. Balance throughout the Arizona lineup is why the Wildcats are ranked first in multiple media mediums through their 21-0 start to the 2025-26 season.