# List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career assists leaders

In basketball, an assist is a pass to a teammate that directly leads to a score by field goal. The top25 highest assists totals in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA did not split into its current divisions format until August 1973. From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)". Assists are a relatively new statistic in college basketball, having only become an official statistic beginning with the 1983–84 season. Therefore Billy Allen, who split his career between SMU and Nevada and amassed 940 assists during his career between 1978 and 1983, is not officially recognized in the all-time ranks.
According to the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball media guide, there were also two seasons in the early 1950s in which assists were recorded: 1950–51 and 1951–52.
The all-time leader in career assists is Bobby Hurley of Duke. He recorded 1,076 assists in 140 games (7.68 per game average) between 1989–90 and 1992–93. He also led the Blue Devils to consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992. Second on the list is Chris Corchiani of NC State, another Atlantic Coast Conference school. In his four seasons, Corchiani compiled 1,038 assists. Only two other players besides Hurley and Corchiani have recorded 1,000 career assists at the Division I level: Ed Cota of North Carolina (1,030) and Jason Brickman (1,009) of LIU Brooklyn. Sherman Douglas of Syracuse is the only player on this list who also recorded 20 or more assists in a single game at both the Division I and National Basketball Association levels. For his college career, he played in 138 games while recording 960 assists.

## Key

| Pos. | G | F | C | Ref. |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center | References |
| * | Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from that team is represented on this list |
| C | Player was active in the 2020–21 season, benefiting from the NCAA's blanket COVID-19 eligibility waiver |
| ^ | Player still active in NCAA Division I |

## Top 25 career assists leaders

| Player | Pos. | Team | Career start | Career end | Games played | Assists |
| Bobby Hurley | G | Duke | 1989 | 1993 | 140 | 1,076 |
| Chris Corchiani | G | NC State | 1987 | 1991 | 124 | 1,038 |
| Ed Cota | G | North Carolina | 1996 | 2000 | 138 | 1,030 |
| Jason Brickman | G | LIU Brooklyn | 2010 | 2014 | 130 | 1,009 |
| Keith Jennings | G | East Tennessee State | 1987 | 1991 | 127 | 983 |
| Steve Blake | G | Maryland | 1999 | 2003 | 138 | 972 |
| Sherman Douglas | G | Syracuse | 1985 | 1989 | 138 | 960 |
| Tony Miller | G | Marquette | 1991 | 1995 | 123 | 956 |
| Aaron Miles | G | Kansas | 2001 | 2005 | 138 | 954 |
| Greg Anthony | G | Portland / UNLV | 1987 | 1991 | 138 | 950 |
| Doug Gottlieb | G | Notre Dame / Oklahoma State | 1995 | 2000 | 124 | 947 |
| Gary Payton* | G | Oregon State | 1986 | 1990 | 120 | 939 |
| D. J. Cooper | G | Ohio | 2009 | 2013 | 143 | 934 |
| Kameron Langley$^C$ | G | North Carolina A&T | 2017 | 2022 | 148 | 902 |
| Orlando Smart | G | San Francisco | 1990 | 1994 | 116 | 902 |
| Andre LaFleur | G | Northeastern | 1983 | 1987 | 128 | 894 |
| Chico Fletcher | G | Arkansas State | 1996 | 2000 | 114 | 893 |
| Cassius Winston | G | Michigan State | 2016 | 2020 | 139 | 890 |
| Jim Les | G | Cleveland State / Bradley | 1982 | 1986 | 118 | 884 |
| Frank Smith | G | Old Dominion | 1984 | 1988 | 120 | 883 |
| Scott Machado | G | Iona | 2008 | 2012 | 132 | 880 |
| Yuri Collins | G | Saint Louis | 2019 | 2023 | 116 | 878 |
| Taurence Chisholm | G | Delaware | 1984 | 1988 | 110 | 877 |
| Ryan Nembhard^ | G | Creighton / Gonzaga | 2021 | present | 132 | 863 |
| Isaiah Stevens$^C$ | G | Colorado State | 2019 | 2024 | 153 | 863 |