On Monday, the North Omaha, Nebraska, native was among 50 athletes to be named to the 2024-25 Oscar Roberson Trophy midseason watch list by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Established in 1959, the award recognizes the nation’s most outstanding men’s college basketball player.

Notable athletes also on the watch list include Cooper Flagg (Duke), Mark Sears (Alabama), Ryan Nembhard (Gonzaga), Caleb Love (Arizona) and Kam Jones (Marquette).

Including Tonje, 12 Big Ten athletes made the cut. That list includes Jaden Atkins (Michigan State), Ace Bailey (Rutgers), Ace Baldwin Jr. (Penn State), Nate Bittle (Oregon), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland), Dylan Harper (Rutgers), Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue), Nick Martinelli (Northwestern), Braden Smith (Purdue) and Danny Wolf (Michigan).

Tonje’s tenure as a Badger has been nothing short of spectacular. Through his first 22 games with the program, he’s accountable for 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.2 minutes of action per game. That production comes on shooting marks of 46.9% from the floor, 41.5% from outside and a Big Ten-best 92.9% from the free throw line.