Pocock has been nominated twice before in his career only to lose out to Richie McCaw in 2010 and Thierry Dusautoir a year later.
The Australia forward's latest nomination comes after impressing throughout the Rugby World Cup as the Wallabies have marched their way to the final, and he is expected to be a contender for player of the tournament.
Pocock is not the only Wallabies representative in the list, with openside flanker Michael Hooper also in contention, while New Zealand's Dan Carter and Julian Savea make it four players from Sunday's final to be in contention.
Carter – who won the award in 2005 and 2012 – has amassed 63 points in the competition so far, while Savea tops the try-scoring standings with eight – equalling the record at a tournament – a total that included a superb hat-trick against France in the quarter-finals.
Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw also makes the list after featuring in 12 of the 14 Tests played by Vern Cotter's side in 2015, the scrum-half claiming 79 points as Scotland were knocked out of the World Cup in the last eight.
The final place falls to Alun Wyn Jones, the Wales prop having become the latest player to reach 100 Test caps during 2015.