DUKE’S MALIQ BROWN RECIPIENT OF 2025 LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD
The top defensive player in division I college basketball

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Duke’s Maliq Brown is the recipient of the 2026 Lefty Driesell award, which is presented annually to the top defensive player in division I college basketball.  

The 6-foot-9 senior anchored the nation's top-rated defense, finishing the regular season rated as the nation’s best defender with 8.3 defensive box plus-minus, which is the second-best mark in BartTorvik history.

“Maliq Brown was the best on-ball defender in college basketball,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of College Insider, Inc. and member of the Lefty Driesell award voting panel. “His defensive prowess made the Blue Devils the best defensive team in the country. His intensity and toughness made him a difference maker.”

Brown finished the season with 68 steals and owns the ACC's top steal percentage (5.61%), which ranks second nationally according to KenPom.

He also ended the season with 195 total deflections, averaging 5.3 per game. He accounted for over 32% of his team's total deflections.

Brown matched his career-high with 5 steals against Texas Tech (Dec. 20) and he did it again against rival North Carolina (March 7). It was the fifth time in his career that he had 5 takeaways in a game.

This season he had two or more steals in 23 games.

Brown had a season-best 4 blocked shots against St. John's in the NCAA Tournament and finished his career with 77 blocks and 198 steals.

He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.

The Lefty Driesell award is named in honor of the legendary coach who spent over four decades as a head coach.

Driesell won 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, and Georgia State. He ranks eighth on the NCAA career Division I coaches victories list and his teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense. From 1969-1986 at Maryland, his teams posted a jo348-159 record, won two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and one tournament title.

Driesell also led Davidson, Georgia State and James Madison to the NCAA tournament, making him one of three coaches to reach the NCAAs with four different programs. His teams won a total of 16 regular season championships and six tournament championships.

Charles “Lefty” Driesell passed away on Feb. 17, 2024. He was 92.

  LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD FINALISTS

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS
Joseph Tugler, Houston (2025); Boo Buie, Northwestern (2024); Caleb McConnell, Rutgers (2023); KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's (2022); Davion Mitchell: Baylor (2021); Juvaris Hayes, Merrimack (2020); Matisse Thybulle, Washington (2019); Jevon Carter, West Virginia (2018);Jevon Carter, West Virginia (2017): Vashil Fernandez, Valparaiso (2016); Darion Atkins, Virginia (2015); Elfrid Payton, UL-Lafayette (2014); Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook (2013); Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2012); Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion (2011); Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State (2010).

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NOTE: Portions of the press release came from Duke University releases.