Kentucky's Ashton Hagans has been named one of four finalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

The Wildcats' sophomore guard joins Marcus Garrett (Kansas), Tre Jones (Duke), and Mark Vital (Baylor) on the list for the award, which will be announced April 1 by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Hagans was named the 2019 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was a member of the 2020 All-SEC Defensive Team. He posted a team-high 58 steals while often drawing the defensive assignment on the opponent's top player.

"You're not going to find a player that is better on the defensive end on and off the ball than Ashton Hagans has been," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas recently said. "I think he's the frontrunner for national defensive player of the year."

Hagans had nine games with three or more steals, including three games with four. His 58 steals were the most this season among the four finalists for the award.

The Georgia native averaged 11.5 points, 6.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game as a sophomore in leading Kentucky to a 25-6 record and its 49th SEC championship.

Hagans is averaging 1.78 steals per game during his UK career, which ranks third all-time in program history behind only Rajon Rondo and Derek Anderson.