Baylor MBB’s Edgecombe Named Jerry West Award Finalist
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Baylor freshman guard VJ Edgecombe has been selected as one of five finalists for the 2025 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, announced Tuesday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Baylor is one of just three schools to have a Jerry West Award finalist in three of the last five seasons, joining Arizona and Kansas. Edgecombe is the latest Baylor back-court star to be recognized by the Hall of Fame after Adam Flagler (2023) and MaCio Teague (2021) were finalists as well.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top shooting guards in the country.
Edgecombe is joined on the list by Arizona’s Caleb Love, Memphis’ PJ Haggerty, Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier and Texas’ Tre Johnson. The preseason Big 12 Freshman of the year is aiming to become the second player in program history to win a national individual award, following Johnathan Motley's 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year honor.
Named to the preseason and midseason watch lists as well, the fabulous freshman has lived up to his billing, averaging 17.2 points per game over his last 12 games, shooting 47% from the field, 40% from three and 80% from the line. Edgecombe ranks eighth in the Big 12, averaging 16.3 points per game in conference play and with 14.6 points per game, he is on pace for the fifth-best scoring average by a freshman in BU history.
The winner of the 2025 Jerry West Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Baylor returns to action on Tuesday night when they travel to TCU to face the Horned Frogs at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. BU enters Tuesday’s game hunting a fifth-straight win in Fort Worth.
SEASON HONORS
VJ EDGECOMBE
- Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year
- Jerry West Award Watch List
- Naismith Trophy Watch List
- Wooden Award Preseason Top-50
- Sporting News All-America Third Team
- Lute Olson Award Early Season Watch List
- Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Week (1/27)
- Jerry West Award Midseason Top-10
- Jerry West Award Finalist
NORCHAD OMIER
- Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team
- NABC Player of the Year Watch List
- Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List
- Karl Malone Award Watch List
- Wooden Award Preseason Top-50
- Lute Olson Award Early Season Watch List
- Big 12 Player of the Week (11/25)
- Oscar Robertson Midseason Top-50
- Karl Malone Award Midseason Top-10
JEREMY ROACH
- Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Year
- Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team
- Bob Cousy Award Watch list
- Naismith Trophy Award Watch List
- Wooden Award Preseason Top-50
- Lute Olson Award Early Season Watch List
ROBERT WRIGHT
- Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (2/3)