PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 2021-22 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is receiving more-and-more national recognition in 2023.

Rutgers men's basketball's fifth-year captain Caleb McConnell has been named to the 2023 Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist, consisting of 15 of the top defenders in the country.

"Caleb McConnell is not only the best defender in the conference, but the best in the whole country," head coach Steve Pikiell said earlier this season. "I can do so much more defensively with McConnell's ability to guard positions 1 through 5. People always want to talk about scorers in this league. They should be talking about the amount of points Caleb takes off the board for the other team. He is paramount to our team's defensive success night in and night out."

"It's an honor to be named to Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist along with some of the greatest defenders in college basketball," McConnell said. "My defense is something I take extreme pride and effort in, and I appreciate the recognition. There is much more work to be done and I look forward to continuing to help my team win games as we look to take Rutgers basketball to new heights this season."

McConnell was selected as a semifinalist for the award last season, recognizing the top 10 defenders in the nation during the first week of March. McConnell was also chosen as a member of the watch list for the Julius Erving Award this preseason, given to the best small forward in the country. The Erving Award named the top 20 small forwards in the country in the preseason.

McConnell missed the first five games of the season with a knee injury but has returned right back to form in his first 15 games averaging 9.9 points. 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists-per-game. McConnell is averaging 2.3 steals-per-game with 36 steals.

McConnell has been the anchor of the top defensive team in the Big Ten so far, as Rutgers has allowed just 57.0 points per game, good for 4^th in the nation. McConnell guards each team's top scorer and held them to some of their lowest scoring outputs of the season. McConnell leads a Rutgers defense that has held 12 of their 14 home opponents to their season-low in points so far.  The RU defensive is 12^th in the country in steals-per-game (9.6).

McConnell is currently 4th all-time on the Rutgers steals list (186) and has a chance to be the school's all-time leader if he can track down the great Eddie Jordan's 220 career steals.

Rutgers is 14-1 when holding its opponent to 65 or fewer points and 6-0 when doing so in Big Ten games. RU is one of just nine teams in the nation that haven't given up 80 points in a game yet this season, and just one of three to do so at the Power 5 level.

The Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year will be announced on April 2 as selected from the four finalists. The full 15-player is is below:

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