Nittany Lion Baldwin Jr. a finalist for Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award

Amber Charnoff
·2 min read

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) – Penn State’s Ace Baldwin Jr. was named as one of the 25 finalists for the 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday.

This is the second Defensive Player of the Year award the senior point guard has been named a finalist for. Baldwin Jr. is also a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Other postseason accolades for the Baltimore, Maryland native include being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, NABC second-team All-District, third-team All-Big Ten (coaches and media) and earning Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors.

Baldwin Jr. finished the 2023-24 season as the leader in steals (88) and steals per game (2.67) for the Big Ten, ranking in the top-five for both stats in Division I. Baldwin Jr.’s steals are the third most by a Penn State player in a single-season.

Ace Baldwin Jr. tabbed semifinalist for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year

Baldwin Jr.’s steals per game are the most by a Big Ten player in one season since 1993. His 2.70 steals per Big Ten game are the most by a Big Ten player since 2014.

Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions with 14.2 points, 6 assists and 2.7 steals per game for his first season with Penn State. He is the only current active Division I player with over 1,000 career points (1,297), over 600 career assists (618) and over 250 career steals (271).

The 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award Finalists are as follows:

The winner of the Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year award will be decided by a 10-member voting committee comprised of current and former coaches and staff members of collegeinsider.com.

  • Justin Abson – Appalachian State

  • Ace Baldwin Jr. – Penn State

  • Reece Beekman – Virginia

  • Adem Bona – UCLA

  • Boo Buie – Northwestern

  • Johni Broome – Auburn

  • Devin Carter – Providence

  • Isaiah Cozart – Eastern Kentucky

  • Isaiah Crawford – Louisiana Tech

  • Ryan Dunn – Virginia

  • Zach Edey – Purdue

  • KiAndre Gaddy – Tarleton State

  • Andersson Garcia – Texas A&M

  • Dajuan Harris Jr. – Kansas

  • DaRon Holmes II – Dayton

  • Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton

  • Malevy Leons – Bradley

  • Tamin Lipsey – Iowa State

  • Bez Mbeng – Yale

  • Cliff Omoruyi – Rutgers

  • Jamal Shead – Houston

  • Charles Thompson – Towson

  • Kellen Tynes Jr. – Maine

  • Amari Williams – Drexel

  • Zakai Zeigler – Tennessee

The recipient will be announced in Phoenix, Arizona, the site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

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