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Indiana men's basketball center Oumar Ballo has begun to rack up the preseason recognition.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Hoosiers' new big man was named to the NABC Division I Player of the Year and the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year watchlists. Ballo is set to enter his first year at Indiana this upcoming season after transferring form Arizona in the offseason.

Below is the full release from Indiana athletics.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo was named to the NABC Division I Player of the Year and Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year presented by AXIA Time Watchlists on Wednesday afternoon.

The 2025 NABC Division I Player of the Year - selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches - will be announced the week of the 2025 Men’s Final Four.

The Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year presented by AXIA Time is presented annually to the men’s college basketball player who achieves great success on the court.

Ballo averaged 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in three seasons at Arizona. He shot 64.6% (466-of-721) from the floor and posted 34 double-doubles, third most in Arizona basketball history. He was one of 10 players in program history to accumulate at least 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds.

The 7-0, 260-pound center was twice named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team two times, and voted to a pair of Pac-12 All-Tournament Teams. He was named the 2022-23 Pac-12 Most Improved Player, the 2022 Maui Invitational Most Outstanding Player, and the 2021-22 Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year.

Ballo began his career at Gonzaga with a redshirt season in 2019-20 before earning a spot in the rotation for a Bulldog program that finished 31-1, won both the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Championship game. Overall, Ballo has won 84.8% (112-of-132) of the games he has appeared in throughout his career.

The Indiana Hoosiers will open the home slate of the 2024-25 season with an exhibition against Marian at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 1. The regular season will start at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 6 against SIUE at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

2025 NABC DIVISION I PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST

Ace Bailey, Rutgers

OUMAR BALLO, INDIANA

Johni Broome, Auburn

L.J. Cryer, Houston

Johnell Davis, Arkansas

RJ Davis, North Carolina

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas

Cooper Flagg, Duke

Graham Ike, Gonzaga

Kam Jones, Marquette

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

Alex Karaban, Connecticut

Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Caleb Love, Arizona

Norchad Omier, Baylor

Kadary Richmond, St. John’s

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest

Mark Sears, Alabama

Braden Smith, Purdue

Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M

2025 JERSEY MIKE'S NAISMITH TROPHY PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST PRESENTED BY AXIA TIME

Robbie Avila, Saint Louis

Ace Bailey, Rutgers

Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State

OUMAR BALLO, INDIANA

Johni Broome, Auburn

Markus Burton, Notre Dame

Walter Clayton Jr., Florida

L.J. Cryer, Houston

RJ Davis , North Carolina

Johnell Davis, Arkansas

Tyson Degenhart, Boise State

Tucker DeVries, West Virginia

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas

Eric Dixon, Villanova

VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

Cooper Flagg, Duke

Dawson Garcia, Minnesota

Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon

Dylan Harper, Rutgers

Dajuan Harris Jr., Kansas

Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State

Bryce Hopkins, Providence

Graham Ike, Gonzaga

Tre Johnson, Texas

Kam Jones, Marquette

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

Alex Karaban, UConn

Kon Knueppel, Duke

Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB

Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Caleb Love, Arizona

Liam McNeeley, UConn

Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss

Grant Nelson, Alabama

Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga

Norchad Omier, Baylor

Great Osobor, Washington

Kadary Richmond, St. John's

Jeremy Roach, Baylor

J'Wan Roberts, Houston

Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest

Payton Sandfort, Iowa

Mark Sears, Alabama

Jackson Shelstad, Oregon

Braden Smith, Purdue

AJ Storr, Kansas

Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

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