Indiana forward Aiden Sherrell is on the radar for one of college basketball’s biggest individual honors before the season even tips off.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has put Sherrell on the 20-player preseason watchlist for the 2027 Karl Malone Award, which goes to the top power forward in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. The award, named for the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and Class of 2010 Hall of Famer, is in its 13th year.
Sherrell arrives in Bloomington after two seasons at Alabama, where the third-year forward built a reputation for impact on both ends. The 2024 McDonald’s All American has averaged 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 16.1 minutes per game over his college career. He’s also been part of 53 wins, helped his teams reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament twice and recorded three double doubles.
His second season in Tuscaloosa was the one that really turned heads. Sherrell started all 34 games for the Crimson Tide and averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 23.9 minutes a night.
He scored in double figures 19 times, topped 20 points four times and added three more double doubles. That 2.2 blocks per game ranked 13th nationally, a clear sign of how disruptive he was around the rim.
That defensive presence is exactly what Indiana is bringing in. Sherrell, a Detroit native, gives the Hoosiers size, athleticism and shot-blocking on the interior, and head coach Darian DeVries and his staff will be counting on him to anchor that end while his offense grows in the Big Ten.
The preseason list includes 19 other candidates: Paulius Murauskas, Arizona State
Miikka Muurinen, Arkansas Jaxon Kohler, BYU
Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, Duke Alex Condon, Florida
Braden Huff, Gonzaga Joseph Tugler, Houston
David Mirkovic, Illinois Keanu Dawes, Kansas
Malik Reneau, Miami J.P.
Estrella, Michigan Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Minnesota
Caden Pierce, Purdue Keyshawn Hall, St.
John's Xavier Edmonds, TCU
David Punch, Texas JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Na'jai Hines, UConn Thijs De Ridder, Virginia
Players can still move onto or off the list during the 2025-26 season. Fan voting opens Friday, Oct. 30.
The Hall of Fame’s selection committee, which includes media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers, will trim the group to 10 in February and five finalists in March. The final five will then be presented to Malone and the committee before the winner is announced with the rest of the Men’s Starting Five awards: the Bob Cousy Award, Jerry West Award, Julius Erving Award and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.
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