Rutgers Basketball's star freshmen were recognized as the Big Ten Conference unveiled its postseason honors on Tuesday.
Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey both earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors - selected by the media - and were named to the conference's All-Freshman Team, alongside fellow first-year stars Kasparas Jakučionis (Illinois), Jase Richardson (Michigan State), and Derik Queen (Maryland).
Queen was named the conference's Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
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The freshman duo finished off two of the most prolific first-year seasons in program history, living up to the billing of their Five-Star prospect status, finishing Nos. 2 and 3 in the 2024 Rivals150.
In the regular season finale against Minnesota, Harper broke Mike Rosario's single-season freshman scoring record, finishing with 537 points (a team-high 19.2 points per game). He also paced the Scarlet Knights with 3.9 assists per game and 1.4 steals per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in points per game despite missing action with injury and illness.
Bailey had a strong season of his own, finishing behind Harper and Rosario in third place for the program's single-season freshman scoring record with 510 points (17.6 points per game). He also led the team in rebounding (7.2 per game) and blocks (1.3 per game). His scoring average ranked seventh in the Big Ten.
Each of the two had their own breakout performances, scoring 30 or more points three times apiece. All three of Bailey's came in Big Ten play, without Harper. He scored 39 and 37 points in a loss at Indiana and a win at Northwestern, respectively, when Harper missed the entirety of the game. His 30-point performance at Penn State came after Harper left the game with injury in the first half. He averaged 19 points per game away from home.
Harper's peak performances came in the beginning and end of the season, truly breaking out during November's Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. In back-to-back nights, he scored 36 points in a double-overtime win over Notre Dame, then followed it up with a 37-point performance in a narrow loss to then-No. 9 Alabama, nearly carrying Rutgers to an upset victory. He also scored 34 points in an overtime win at Washington.
The freshman pair also earned some hardward throughout the year.
Harper was named the Naismith National Player of the Week on February 24th, while also being named March Madness Player of the Week in December, and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times. He was named a Bob Cousy Award (best point guard nationally) Top 10 finalist in February
Bailey was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, as well as MET Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week, twice in January. He was named a Top 10 finalist for the Julius Erving Award (best small forward nationally), also in February.
Both players project to be top-five picks in June's NBA Draft.
Senior forward Zach Martini was named Rutgers' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award nominee.
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