Sharp, Flemings Earn Places on Wooden Award Midseason Watch List

HOUSTON – After leading the Cougars to #7/7 national rankings, a 14-1 overall record and a 2-0 start in Big 12 Conference play, University of Houston guards Emanuel Sharp and Kingston Flemings earned places on John R. Wooden Award Midseason Watch List.

The Cougar duo were two of 25 student-athletes from schools across the nation to be named to the Watch List. Houston was one of four schools with multiple student-athletes on the Watch List, joining Arizona, Iowa State and Purdue.

Selected by a midseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 25 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2026 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not selected for the list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award midseason, late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications.

Celebrating its fiftieth year, the Wooden Award will feature special programming throughout the season with first winner and ambassador Marques Johnson, culminating in the 2026 John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal. Winners and All Americans will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 10.

ABOUT EMANUEL SHARP
A four-year letterman with the Cougars, Sharp has compiled a 109-13 record during his career and is tied with forward Michael Young (1980-84) for the fifth most wins in school history.

With 1,370 career points, Sharp moved into the Cougars' Top-25 leaders and is 22^nd in school history.

This season, Sharp ranks second among the Cougars with 16.0 points per game and ranks among the Big 12 leaders with 2.7 3-point field goals per game and a .394 3-point field goal percentage.

The Tampa, Fla., native has posted five 20-point games this season, including a season-high 27 points against Florida State during the Houston Hoops Showdown inside Toyota Center in Houston on December 6, 2025.

With 253 career 3-pointers, Sharp ranks third in Houston career history and needs only 24 more treys to move past Houston great Marcus Sasser and set a school record.

ABOUT KINGSTON FLEMINGS
Flemings is in his first season with the Cougars after an award-winning prep career at Brennan High School in San Antonio, Texas.

In only 15 games, Flemings has established himself as one of the nation's top freshmen. He leads the Cougars with 16.1 points, 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game while hitting 53.5 percent of his shots from the field and 42.6 percent from behind the arc.

Flemings leads the Cougars with six 20-point games in 2025-26 and scored a career-high 25 points against #17/16 Tennessee during the second day of the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas on November 25, 2025.

Most recently, he scored nine points in the final two minutes and added five assists with three rebounds and a blocked shot in the Cougars' 69-65 win over #14/14 Texas Tech inside Fertitta Center on Tuesday night.

After scoring 22 points with five rebounds, seven assists and a blocked shot, Flemings was honored as the USBWA Oscar Roberts National Player of the Week as well as the Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week.

JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON WATCH LIST

Player	School	Class	Position	Height
Kingston Flemings	Houston	Freshman	Guard	6-4
Emanuel Sharp	Houston	Senior	Guard	6-3
Darius Acuff Jr.	Arkansas	Freshman	Guard	6-3
Nate Ament	Tennessee	Freshman	Forward	6-10
Cameron Boozer	Duke	Freshman	Forward	6-9
Jaden Bradley	Arizona	Senior	Guard	6-3
Mikel Brown Jr.	Louisville	Freshman	Guard	6-5
Tucker DeVries	Indiana	Redshirt Senior	Forward	6-7
AJ Dybantsa	BYU	Freshman	Forward	6-9
PJ Haggerty	Kansas State	Junior	Guard	6-4
Thomas Haugh	Florida	Junior	Forward	6-9
Graham Ike	Gonzaga	Graduate	Forward	6-9
Josh Jefferson	Iowa State	Senior	Forward	6-9
Alex Karaban	UConn	Redshirt Senior	Forward	6-8
Trey Kaufman-Renn	Purdue	Senior	Forward	6-9
Yaxel Lendeborg	Michigan	Graduate	Forward	6-9
Tamin Lipsey	Iowa State	Senior	Guard	6-1
Koa Peat	Arizona State	Freshman	Forward	6-8
Darryn Peterson	Kansas	Freshman	Guard	6-6
Labaron Philon Jr.	Alabama	Sophomore	Guard	6-4
Braden Smith	Purdue	Senior	Guard	6-0
Bennett Stirtz	Iowa	Senior	Guard	6-4
Bruce Thornton	Ohio State	Senior	Guard	6-2
JT Toppin	Texas Tech	Junior	Forward	6-9
Caleb Wilson	North Carolina	Freshman	Forward	6-10

BUY TICKETS
Single-game home tickets for all games inside Fertitta Center are now on sale, and fans are encouraged to purchase quickly while supplies last. The two-time defending Big 12 Conference Champions, Houston will play host to eight more Big 12 home games during the 2025-26 season.

Fans interested in purchasing group tickets may complete this form to be contacted by a member of the Houston Athletics Tickets Sales staff.

Non-season ticket holders interested in purchasing season tickets are invited to place their names on the Season Ticket Wait List by clicking here.

UP NEXT
• Houston hits the road again to face Baylor inside Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas, at Noon, Saturday. That game will air on Peacock.
• The Cougars return to Fertitta Center to host a pair of home games against West Virginia (7:30 p.m., Jan. 13, FS1) and against Arizona State (TBA, Jan. 18, ESPN/2).
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC, the Varsity Network app and Sirius XM Radio.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by providing NIL opportunities and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget.

Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.

– UHCougars.com –

Upcoming Events

Recent Results