Maryland’s Pharrel Payne named to national center watch list

Maryland center Pharrel Payne will begin the season with a place on the national watch list at his position.

The redshirt senior was named Oct. 30 to the 20-player preseason watch list for the 2027 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, presented annually to the top center in Division I men’s basketball. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the candidates ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Payne averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 10 appearances for Maryland last season. He started each of those games, but an injury kept him out of the Terps’ final 21 contests, according to his Maryland biography.

His shortened season included a career-high 30 points against Wagner and a career-best 14 rebounds at Iowa. He finished with three double-doubles and scored in double figures in nine of his 10 games.

The 6-foot-9 forward-center enters this season with 106 college appearances and 47 starts across stops at Minnesota, Texas A&M and Maryland. He has averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds over his college career.

The watch-list selection follows Payne’s preseason All-Big Ten recognition.

Payne is an early candidate for the award, with the selection process continuing through the season. Players can move onto or off the watch list based on their performance. The field is scheduled to shrink to 10 in February and five finalists in March before Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee choose the winner. Fan voting opened Oct. 30.

Maryland is scheduled to open the season Nov. 2 against Bucknell at XFINITY Center.