SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (February 5, 2025) - The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the Top 10 candidates for the 2025 Julius Erving Award and Rutgers men's basketball's Airious "Ace" Bailey was named to the list. 
 
The annual Julius Erving Award, named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player, celebrates its 11th year by recognizing the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
 
Ace Bailey is having an incredible freshman year and is currently on pace to break the Rutgers all-time freshman season scoring record. Bailey is currently averaging 20.2 points per game which is good for 11^th in the nation. Earlier this season Bailey matched RUs' freshman scoring record and Big Ten record earlier this season with 39 points at Indiana (most in a regulation game) and his 16 field goals were the most ever by a RU player in a Big Ten game and most by a RU freshman. His 37 points against Northwestern and 30 points at Penn State marked some of his best scoring outputs of the season. Bailey was named a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and Met Writers Player of the Week for his performances this season.
 
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in both of the remaining rounds starting on Friday, February 7, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
 
In March, the Top 10 list will be narrowed to just five, and in late March, the five finalists will be presented to Erving, Miller, and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committees for the Julius Erving Award comprise top men's and women's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
 
The winner of the 2025 Erving Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy and Nancy Lieberman Awards (Point Guard), Jerry West and Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards (Shooting Guard), Karl Malone and Katrina McClain Awards (Power Forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lisa Leslie Awards (Center).