The Atlanta Tipoff Club | January 27, 2022

2022 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List revealed

Auburn continues to roll in SEC, stays atop Power 36 rankings

On January 27, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List for the 2021-22 men's college basketball season. Fifteen players across the DI men's basketball landscape were chosen. The watch list will shrink to 10 national semifinalists on March 1 and four finalists on March 16. The winner will be announced on April 3.

The SEC is the conference with the most representations with four, followed by three from the Big 12.

Here are the 15 candidates for the 2022 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year:

Full Name	Class	Position	School	Conference
Walker Kessler	So.	F	Auburn	SEC
Jacob Gilyard	Sr.	G	Richmond	Atlantic 10
Oscar Tshiebwe	Jr.	F	Kentucky	SEC
Chet Holmgren	Fr.	C	Gonzaga	WCC
Jamarion Sharp	Jr.	C	Western Kentucky	C-USA East
Christian Koloko	Jr.	C	Arizona	Pac-12
Kevin McCullar	Jr.	G	Texas Tech	Big 12
Mark Williams	So.	C	Duke	ACC
Tari Eason	So.	F	LSU	SEC
Tyrese Hunter	Fr.	G	Iowa State	Big 12
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua	Jr.	F	Baylor	Big 12
Kennedy Chandler	Fr.	G	Tennessee	SEC
Posh Alexander	So.	G	St. John's	Big East
Trayce Jackson-Davis	Jr.	F	Indiana	Big Ten
Nathan Mensah	Sr.	F	San Diego State	Mountain West

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