 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Ohio Valley Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 1963 |
| Most recent | Mark Freeman, Morehead State |
The Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Ohio Valley Conference's (OVC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1962–63 season.
Fifteen players in OVC history have claimed more than one player of the year award, the most recent of whom was Terry Taylor in 2020 and 2021. Among the repeat winners, only one—Clem Haskins of Western Kentucky—has been a three-time player of the year. Haskins achieved the feat from 1965 through 1967.
Both of the schools with the most awards left the OVC in 2022. Murray State, which has dominated the award's selection, with its players having received the award 21 times (which at the Racers' departure was equal to the total of the next three programs on the list), joined the Missouri Valley Conference. Second-place Austin Peay, with eight awards, joined the ASUN Conference. Among schools remaining in the OVC after 2022, Morehead State has the most awards with seven. Four current OVC members have yet to produce a winner, but three (Lindenwood, Little Rock, Southern Indiana) played their first OVC seasons in 2022–23; the only pre-2022 member without a winner is SIU Edwardsville. Western Illinois is playing its first OVC season in 2023–24.
Four ties have occurred for player of the year: 1968, 1976, 1983 and 2013. No OVC Men's Basketball Player of the Year has ever been selected as any national player of the year.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national player of the year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the OVC Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Murray State (1948)[lower-alpha 1] | 21 | 1964, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1983†, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2013†, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022 |
| Austin Peay (1962)[lower-alpha 1] | 8 | 1974, 1977, 1978, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2020, 2021 |
| Morehead State (1948) | 7 | 1963, 1987, 1992, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2023 |
| Western Kentucky (1948)[lower-alpha 2] | 7 | 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968†, 1970, 1971, 1976† |
| Belmont (2012)[lower-alpha 1] | 4 | 2013†, 2014, 2016, 2017 |
| Middle Tennessee (1952)[lower-alpha 3] | 4 | 1975, 1976†, 1981, 1982 |
| Akron (1980)[lower-alpha 4] | 3 | 1983†, 1984, 1986 |
| Tennessee State (1986) | 2 | 1993, 1994 |
| Tennessee Tech (1949) | 2 | 1985, 2005 |
| UT Martin (1992) | 2 | 2008, 2009 |
| East Tennessee State (1958)[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 1968† |
| Eastern Illinois (1996) | 1 | 2002 |
| Eastern Kentucky (1948)[lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 1979 |
| Samford (2003)[lower-alpha 7] | 1 | 2006 |
| Southeast Missouri State (1991) | 1 | 1999 |
| Jacksonville State (2003)[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | — |
| Lindenwood (2022) | 0 | — |
| Little Rock (2022) | 0 | — |
| SIU Edwardsville (2008) | 0 | — |
| Southern Indiana (2022) | 0 | — |
| Western Illinois (2023) | 0 | — |
- 1 2 3 Austin Peay State University, Belmont University, and Murray State University left the OVC in 2022. Peay joined the ASUN Conference, and Belmont and Murray State joined the Missouri Valley Conference.
- ↑ Western Kentucky University left in 1982 to join the Sun Belt Conference, and is now in Conference USA.
- ↑ Middle Tennessee State University left in 2000 to join the Sun Belt Conference, and is now in C-USA.
- ↑ The University of Akron left in 1987 to become an Independent. The Zips are now in the Mid-American Conference.
- ↑ East Tennessee State University left in 1978 to join the Southern Conference (SoCon). The Buccaneers returned to the SoCon in 2014 after nine seasons in the ASUN Conference.
- 1 2 Eastern Kentucky University and Jacksonville State University left in 2021 to join the ASUN Conference. JSU moved to Conference USA in 2023.
- ↑ Samford University left in 2008 to join the SoCon.
References
- ↑ "Murray State's Canaan, Prohm, Long and Tennessee–Martin's Taylor Earn Top 2012 OVC Men's Basketball Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. February 28, 2012. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- 1 2 "Murray State's Canaan, Belmont's Clark and Byrd Earn Top 2012-13 OVC Men's Basketball Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Belmont's Rick Byrd, J.J. Mann lead All-OVC basketball honors" (Press release). Tennessean.com. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ↑ "Belmont's Bradds, TSU's Ford and McCall, EKU's Mayo Earn Top 2015-16 OVC Men's Basketball Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Belmont's Bradds and Byrd, Tennessee State's McCall, Southeast Missouri's Mahoney Earn 2016-17 OVC Men's Basketball Top Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ↑ "Austin Peay's Taylor, Morehead State's Broome and Spradlin, Belmont's Murphy Earn 2020-21 OVC Men's Basketball Top Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ↑ "Murray State's Williams and McMahon, Morehead State's Broome and APSU's Hutchins-Everett Earn 2021-22 OVC Men's Basketball Top Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Morehead State's Freeman, Gross and Spradlin, EIU's Haffner Earn 2022-23 OVC Men's Basketball Top Honors" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.