Defense often goes overlooked during Talking Season, but it's on full display at the Final Four. Michigan won the 2026 national championship with one of the best defenses of the modern era. Florida won the 2025 national championship with multiple elite defenders at all three levels. UConn won the 2024 national championship thanks to elite defense from shot-blocker Donovan Clingan and vaporizing point-of-attack defense from Steph Castle.

So let's spill some ink on college basketball's best defensive players in 2026-27.

Before we dive into the first-team selections, second-team nods and honorable mentions, here are some ground rules:

• 5-in-5 seniors were not considered for this exercise: Of course, Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey is an elite defender, but there's still uncertainty about whether he will get to play all season. The same goes for Oklahoma State's Kashie Natt, Oklahoma's BJ Edwards, and on and on we go.
• These teams were built with real basketball in mind: Both teams needed to resemble a group that could realistically play together. The four best defensive players this season are all bigs, but that doesn't work in real basketball. It needed some balance with guards, wings, forwards and centers.

Let's dive in.

First Team

G Killyan Toure, Iowa State

You're in for a long day when Toure draws the assignment. The long-armed, 6-3 guard is pound-for-pound the best point-of-attack defender in America. He'll pick up opposing point guards for all 94 feet, and slowly but surely, just wear them out. He's currently on the mend from preseason shoulder surgery, but when he returns, Toure will get back to being a total pest who draws the toughest task for an elite Iowa State defense every night. He takes getting stops personally. 

"He just has a way; he can break your spirit," Iowa State T.J. Otzelberger said. "Toughness. A look in his eye. A relentless nature to how he does it."

G Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona

Would anyone be interested in watching a 6-7, 230-pound fire hydrant wreck havoc? That's the Ivan Kharchenkov experience. The German wing is a brute-force monster. Even though he's such a big dude, Kharchenkov navigates screens pretty well in Arizona's drop-coverage defensive scheme. But when it's time to emergency switch, he's strong enough to root out bigs. Even with a bigger offensive load this season, Kharchenkov will be a defensive whiz. 

G Dame Sarr, Duke

Sarr can turn anybody's water off. He's all of 6-8, and Sarr's frame has filled out considerably ahead of his sophomore year. Duke coach Jon Scheyer knows Sarr can take pretty much any perimeter assignment and give 'em fits. He's especially terrifying when guarding shooters because of his length and speed. Synergy's defensive stats can be a little wonky, but opponents shot just 31% when Sarr was the contesting defender. That's an elite number.

Sarr is a difference-maker at the point of attack, but Duke's defense requires way more than just guarding the ball. The switching, the scrambling, the rotations. It's a lot of thinking and problem-solving on the fly. Sarr aced most of those tests as a freshman, and he'll be even better in Year 2. 

F JoJo Tugler, Houston

Tugler is one of the most unique defenders in college basketball. When he stays out of foul trouble, Houston's defense goes from really good to God-mode. The Cougs had the No. 1 defense in all of college basketball last year in the 1,382 possessions with Tugler in the game, holding opponents to a pitiful 0.87 offensive rating. The 6-8, 230-pound forward can blitz pick-and-rolls 35 feet from the basket and turn and burn back to the rim to swat a layup away. His combination of speed, timing, length and voraciousness is special.

'I would not trade him for another player in the country," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. 

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: C Rueben Chinyelu, Florida

Chinyelu is CBS Sports' preseason Defensive Player of the Year selection. Bold and brave to go with the reigning national Defensive Player of the Year. But it's a well-deserved honor because Florida asks so much of Chinyelu defensively, and he's up to the task almost every single time. The 6-10, 265-pound center is built like The Hulk, but he's agile, strong, smart and dependable. Leaving a big man on an island against an elite guard is a way to get embarrassed, but not all switches are created equal. Chinyelu is totally fine shadowing bucket-getting lead guards by himself. He's a game-changer at every level defensively and was a worthy national Defensive Player of the Year winner last season. 

Here are some numbers that paint the picture of Chinyelu's impact: Florida's defense was 10.5 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the floor. Teams shot just 43.5% on 2s when Chinyelu was out there. That was the best mark in the sport. 

Chinyelu is also the best defensive rebounder at the high-major level. He vacuums everything off the glass, ending possessions and fueling Florida's relentless transition attack.

Second Team

G Jordan Smith Jr., Arkansas

Smith hasn't played a single real college game yet, but he already deserves to be on this list. That's the level of respect his defense has already earned in coaching circles. Smith's mentality is top-notch. The energy he brings defensively sets the tone for the rest of the group. He's the standard-bearer. The tools are fantastic, too. The 6-2 guard owns an elite 6-9 wingspan, which helps him rack up deflections, steals and chip in with rim protection.

Arkansas' point-of-attack defense was Swiss cheese last year. Now, it'll be the strength of the team.

G Miles Byrd, Providence

Byrd is basically a pterodactyl who levitates in the air before swatting a layup away. Byrd ranked third in the Mountain West in block percentage last year ... at just 6-6. His timing and anticipation defensively are something. Byrd was the only player in college basketball to notch a 6% block percentage and a 4% steal rate last season. He's notched at least one steal or block in 60 of his last 62 college games.

That's a big reason why Providence coach Bryan Hodgson wanted the San Diego State transfer so badly. It wouldn't surprise anybody if Byrd is in the mix to win Big East Defensive Player of the Year. 

F David Punch, Texas

Punch would be a stud for every single defense in the country. The 6-7, 245-pound wing can do it all. He can defend point guards, snipers, big wings, brute-force forwards or even centers. He is so strong, so physical and super smart on top of that. Punch douses fires with his sky-high basketball IQ. Texas' defense is rated outside the top-80 nationally in efficiency. This year, it'll be a top-20 unit, largely because Sean Miller landed Punch.

F Flory Bidunga, Louisville

Bidunga is a beast. Even lightning-quick guards like Houston's lottery pick Kingston Flemings acknowledged that going up against Bidunga was different than other defenders. When Flemings, who has jet-packs attached to his feet, knows it's smarter to pick on someone other than Bidunga, just imagine what it's like for less-special offensive dynamos. Bidunga will singlehandedly raise the floor for a Louisville defense that's been looking to level up. 

C Motiejus Krivas, Arizona

Krivas is the best pure drop-coverage center in the college game. Opposing teams shot just 47% at the rim against Arizona when Krivas was on the floor. That was the second-best mark in the country. At 7-2 and 260 pounds, scaling Mount Krivas is nearly impossible, so teams quit trying it. Guards would rather swerve for jumpers than try to float a layup over his outstretched arms. Krivas basically changes the geography of the floor for Arizona's defense, forcing opponents to play jump-shot roulette, while Arizona's offense gets dunks and layups on the other end. He's different.

Just missed the cut: G Silas Demary Jr., UConn; G Emmanuel Innocenti, Arizona State; F Berke Buyuktuncel, Vanderbilt; C Patrick Ngongba, Duke; G Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt; G Saliou Niang, LSU