LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced its 2024 Men's National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Principal® today on ESPN College GameDay, and University of Dayton junior DaRon Holmes II is one of 15 of the best college basketball players named to the ballot.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of the student-athletes who are the top candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

Holmes joins Johni Broom of Auburn, RJ Davis of North Carolina, Hunter Dickinson of Kansas, Zach Edey of Purdue, Kyle Filipowski of Duke, Dalton Knecht of Tennessee, Tyler Kolek of Marquette, Jaedon LeDee of San Diego State, Caleb Love of Arizona, Kevin McKullar, Jr. of Kansas, Tristen Newton of UConn, Antonio Reeves of Kentucky, Mark Sears of Alabama and Jamal Shead of Houston on the ballot.

Holmes is also on the active national player of the year watch lists for the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Trophy and the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy, as well as a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame's Karl Malone award. 

Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com named Holmes to the third team of his 2023-24 All-America Team.

A 6-foot-10 junior forward from Goodyear, Ariz., Holmes II is the only player in NCAA Division I who has more than 60 blocks, 60 dunks and 60 assists this season.  Holmes has 63, 64 and 75 respectively.   The leading candidate for Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year, Holmes was the only player named Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 and to the Preseason All-Defensive Team.  

He leads the A-10 in scoring (20.2) and UD in rebounding (8.3).  He is the only player in the league's top six in scoring, rebounding, FG%, and blocked shots.  After making just seven three-pointers in his first two seasons (and shooting .269 from deep), Holmes has made 29 this season, and is shooting .387 from beyond the arc.

Holmes has improved his FT% from .586 to .669 to .700 this season, while shooting more free throws every season.  He has 39 more free throws made in one less game than anyone else in the A-10.

All 15 players on the ballot have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

Voting will take place from March 18th to March 25th, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2024 Wooden Award presented by Principal will be announced on April 2nd.