The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men’s Basketball’s Swain named to Julius Erving Award preseason watch list
10.29.2025 | Men's Basketball
Junior Dailyn Swain is one of 20 players on watch list for award that recognizes the top small forward in men’s college basketball.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — University of Texas Men's Basketball junior Dailyn Swain is one of 20 preseason watch list candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday. Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 17-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor now in its 12th year recognizes the top small forward in Division I men's college basketball.
The list will be narrowed down to 10 players in late January, with plans to announce the five finalists in March. The award winner and presentation details will be revealed at the Final Four in Indianapolis. The list will remain fluid, and players will have the ability to play themselves on or off the list until the five finalists are selected.
Swain has played in 63 career games (36 starts) during his previous two years at Xavier (2023-25). He has career totals of 505 points (8.0 ppg), 274 rebounds (4.3 rpg), 125 assists (2.0 apg) and 83 steals (1.3 spg) in 1,517 minutes (24.1mpg). Swain has converted 51.0-percent (185-363) from the floor and 81.6-percent (124-152) from the free throw line in his career. He has reached double figures in scoring 25 times in his career and reached double digits in rebounds three times while recording three career double-doubles.
As a sophomore at Xavier in 2024-25, Swain played in all 34 games (33 starts) and led the team in steals (53, 1.56 spg), ranked second in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and assists (89, 2.6 apg), third in scoring (11.0 rpg) and fourth in minutes (28.5 mpg). He converted 53.2-percent (134-252) from the floor and 81.7-percent (98-120) from the free throw line. Swain reached double figures in scoring 22 times, including 13 of the last 16 games to close the season, and posted three double-doubles on the year. He ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (.817) and ninth in steals (1.5 spg). Swain recorded a career-best 27 points (10-17 FG, 3-5 threes, 4-4 FT), eight boards, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes during Xavier's NCAA First Round contest against Illinois (Mar. 21).
During his freshman year at Xavier in 2023-24, Swain earned BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honors while playing in 29 games (three starts) and averaging 4.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per contest. He converted 45.9-percent (51-111) from the field and 81.3-percent (26-32) from the free throw line on the season.
Texas opens the 2025-26 season with a neutral-site contest against No. 6/5 Duke on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the Dick Vitale Invitational presented by Belk. Tip is slated for 7:45 p.m. Central (8:45 p.m. Eastern) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN. The Longhorns will play their home opener against Lafayette presented by Truist on Saturday, Nov. 8. Tipoff for the home opener is set for 2 p.m. Central in Moody Center, and the contest will be streamed by SEC Network+.
For more information on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, visit www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram.
2025-26 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Preseason Watch List
|
Player |
School |
|
Karter Knox |
Arkansas |
|
Tounde Yessoufou |
Baylor |
|
AJ Dybantsa |
BYU |
|
Dame Sarr |
Duke |
|
Derrion Reid |
Oklahoma |
|
Isiah Harwell |
Houston |
|
Andrej Stojakovic |
Illinois |
|
Tucker DeVries |
Indiana |
|
Milan Momcilovic |
Iowa State |
|
Coen Carr |
Michigan State |
|
Darrion Williams |
NC State |
|
Devin Royal |
Ohio State |
|
Fletcher Loyer |
Purdue |
|
Miles Byrd |
San Diego State |
|
Nate Ament |
Tennessee |
|
TEXAS |
|
|
LeJuan Watts |
Texas Tech |
|
Eric Dailey Jr. |
UCLA |
|
Braylon Mullins |
UConn |
|
Chad Baker-Mazara |
USC |
