List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders

David Robinson recorded 207 blocks in 1985–86, the most for a single season in NCAA history.

In basketball, a block (short for blocked shot) occurs when a defender deflects or stops a field goal attempt without committing a foul.[1] The National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I block title is awarded to the player with the highest blocks per game average in a given season. The block title was first recognized in the 1985–86 season when statistics on blocks were first compiled by the NCAA.[2]

David Robinson of Navy holds the all-time NCAA Division I record single-season blocks record (207) which was set during 1985–86, coincidentally the first season that the NCAA kept track of blocked shots.[2][3] Although Robinson holds the single-season record, it is Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State who claims the all-time career blocked shots record (564).[4] The highest single-season blocks per game (bpg) record is held by Northeastern's Shawn James, who averaged 6.53 blocks in 2005–06.[5]

Four players have been two-time NCAA blocks leaders: David Robinson (1986, 1987), Keith Closs (1995, 1996), Tarvis Williams (1999, 2001) and Jarvis Varnado (2008, 2009). Additionally, six freshmen have led Division I in blocks: Alonzo Mourning (1989), Shawn Bradley (1991), Keith Closs (1995), Hassan Whiteside (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), and Chris Obekpa (2013). Among all-time NCAA blocks leaders, only Robinson, Mourning, and Shaquille O'Neal are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[6]

Keith Closs, the blocks leader in 1995 and 1996, only played college basketball for two seasons.[7] He left the NCAA after only two years to pursue a career in professional basketball, thereby foregoing his final two seasons of eligibility under NCAA by-laws. Had he decided to stay at Central Connecticut, Closs could have potentially become the first player to lead Division I in blocks for not only three years, but possibly all four.

No guards have been the NCAA blocks leaders. Guards are typically shorter and play farther away from the basket, making it more difficult for them to block shots.

Seven players on this list were born outside the United States—Shawn Bradley in Germany (West Germany at the time of his birth), Adonal Foyle in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Wojciech Myrda in Poland, Deng Gai in what is now South Sudan (part of Sudan at the time of his birth), Chris Obekpa in Nigeria, Jordan Bachynski in Canada, and Vashil Fernandez in Jamaica.

Key

Pos.GFCBPGRef.
PositionGuardForwardCenterBlocks per gameReferences
Class (Cl.) key
Fr Freshman So Sophomore Jr Junior Sr Senior

^ Player still active in NCAA Division I
* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player had been the
blocks leader up to and including that season

Blocks leaders

A black bald man wearing a basketball uniform walks on a basketball court toward the camera.
Alonzo Mourning was the first freshman to win the shot blocking title.
A dark-skinned black man wearing basketball warm-up gear holds a basketball in front of him while making a surprised expression.
Adonal Foyle led the NCAA as a junior in 1997.
Season Player Pos. Cl. Team Games
played
Blocks BPG Ref.
1985–86 Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson* C Jr Navy 35 207 5.91 [3]
1986–87 Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson* (2) C Sr Navy 32 144 4.50 [3]
1987–88 Blake, RodneyRodney Blake C Sr Saint Joseph's 29 116 4.00 [8]
1988–89 Mourning, AlonzoAlonzo Mourning* C Fr Georgetown 34 169 4.97 [9]
1989–90 Green, KennyKenny Green F Sr Rhode Island 26 124 4.77 [10]
1990–91 Bradley, ShawnShawn Bradley C Fr BYU 34 177 5.21 [11]
1991–92 O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal* C Jr LSU 30 157 5.23 [12]
1992–93 Ratliff, TheoTheo Ratliff C/F So Wyoming 28 124 4.43 [13]
1993–94 Livingston, GradyGrady Livingston C Jr Howard 26 115 4.42 [14]
1994–95 Closs, KeithKeith Closs C Fr Central Connecticut 26 139 5.35 [15]
1995–96 Closs, KeithKeith Closs (2) C So Central Connecticut 28 178 6.36 [15]
1996–97 Foyle, AdonalAdonal Foyle C Jr Colgate 28 180 6.43 [16]
1997–98 James, JeromeJerome James C Sr Florida A&M 27 125 4.63 [17]
1998–99 Williams, TarvisTarvis Williams C/F So Hampton 27 135 5.00 [18]
1999–00 Johnson, KenKen Johnson C Jr Ohio State 30 161 5.37 [19]
2000–01 Williams, TarvisTarvis Williams (2) C/F Sr Hampton 32 147 4.59 [18]
2001–02 Myrda, WojciechWojciech Myrda C Sr Louisiana–Monroe 32 172 5.38 [20]
2002–03 Okafor, EmekaEmeka Okafor C So Connecticut 33 156 4.73 [21]
2003–04 Ferguson, AnwarAnwar Ferguson C Sr Houston 27 111 4.11 [22]
2004–05 Gai, DengDeng Gai F Sr Fairfield 30 165 5.50 [23]
2005–06 James, ShawnShawn James F So Northeastern 30 196 6.53 [24]
2006–07 Gladness, MickellMickell Gladness C Jr Alabama A&M 30 188 6.27 [25]
2007–08 Varnado, JarvisJarvis Varnado F/C So Mississippi State 34 157 4.62 [26]
2008–09 Varnado, JarvisJarvis Varnado (2) F/C Jr Mississippi State 36 170 4.72 [26]
2009–10 Whiteside, HassanHassan Whiteside F/C Fr Marshall 34 182 5.35 [27]
2010–11 Mosley, WilliamWilliam Mosley C Jr Northwestern State 32 156 4.88 [28]
2011–12 Davis, AnthonyAnthony Davis C Fr Kentucky 40 186 4.65 [29]
2012–13 Obekpa, ChrisChris Obekpa C Fr St. John's 33 133 4.03 [30]
2013–14 Bachynski, JordanJordan Bachynski C Sr Arizona State 33 133 4.03 [31]
2014–15 Mickey, JordanJordan Mickey F So LSU 31 112 3.61 [32]
2015–16 Fernandez, VashilVashil Fernandez C Sr Valparaiso 36 119 3.31 [33]

References

General
Specific
  1. "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "David Robinson". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  4. Gardner, Tim (February 25, 2010). "Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado blocks his way into NCAA record books". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  5. "Shawn James Draft 2008 Profile". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  6. "David Robinson (enshrined 2009)" (PDF). HoopHall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  7. "NBA Development League Player Profile: Keith Closs" (PDF). NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  8. "Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Fame". SJUHawks.com. Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  9. "Alonzo Mourning". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  10. "10 To Be Enshrined in URI Athletic Hall of Fame". University of Rhode Island. September 7, 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  11. "Shawn Bradley". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  12. "Shaquille O'Neal". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  13. "Theo Ratliff". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  14. "NCAA Men's Basketball Annual Leaders". HickokSports.com. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  15. 1 2 "Keith Closs profile". DeltaJammersPlay2Win.com. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  16. "Adonal Foyle". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  17. "Jerome James". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "NBA Draft 2001 Prospect: Tarvis Williams". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  19. "Ken Johnson". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  20. "Wojciech Myrda stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  21. "Emeka Okafor". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  22. "Anwar Ferguson stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  23. "Deng Gai". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  24. "Shawn James stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  25. "Mickell Gladness stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  26. 1 2 "Jarvis Varnado stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  27. "Hassan Whiteside stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  28. "William Mosley stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  29. "Anthony Davis stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  30. "Chris Obekpa stats". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  31. "Jordan Bachynski stats". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  32. "Jordan Mickey stats". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  33. "Vashil Fernandez stats". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
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