SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Add the 2025-26 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time to Markus Burton’s growing list of preseason accolades. The Naismith Trophy is presented to the top collegiate basketball player at the end of the 2025-26 season. Burton was 1-of-50 players on this year’s preseason watch list.
Burton and the rest of the Fighting Irish return to the hardwood tonight, kicking off the new season inside Purcell Pavilion at 7 p.m. ET against LIU. Burton finished in the top 5 in scoring in the entire nation last season, averaging 21.3 ppg.
Burton was one of just three high-major players to post both a usage rate above 30 percent and an assist rate above 20 percent – joining 2025 lottery picks Cooper Flagg and Jeremiah Fears. Additionally, he generated 34.1 points per 40 minutes, ranking in the 98th percentile nationally, according to CBB Analytics.
According to Bart Torvik’s database, since the 2007-08 season, only 10-high major players listed at 6-feet tall or shorter have reached those benchmarks in a single season. Of that group, Burton is one of just four to hit those marks in multiple seasons – joining South Carolina’s Devan Downey (2009-10), Louisville’s Russ Smith (2012-13) and Marquette’s Markus Howard (2019-20).
— ND —