Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the Horizon League
CountryUnited States
History
First award1980
Most recentTrey Townsend, Oakland

The Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Horizon League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1979–80 season, the first year of the conference's existence. Seven players have won the award multiple times: Byron Larkin, Brian Grant, Rashad Phillips, Alfredrick Hughes, Keifer Sykes, Loudon Love, and Antoine Davis. Hughes, unlike the other four who each won twice, was awarded the player of the year on three occasions.

There have only been three ties in the award's history (1981, 1983, 2022). Butler, which left for the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2012 and is now in the Big East Conference, has seven recipients, which is tied for the most all-time with Detroit Mercy. Four current members of the Horizon League have never had a winner – IU Indy, Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris, and Youngstown State. However, these schools include the conference's three newest members—IU Indy joined in 2017, while Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris joined in 2020. The only long-established member without a winner is Youngstown State, which joined in 2002.

Key

† Co-Players of the Year
* Awarded a national player of the year award:
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 Horizon League Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

Calvin Garrett, Oral Roberts, 1980
Jeff Nordgaard, Green Bay, 1996
Jermaine Jackson, Detroit Mercy, 1999
Rashad Phillips, Detroit Mercy, 2000 and 2001
Willie Green, Detroit Mercy, 2003
Mike Green, Butler, 2008
Matt Howard, Butler, 2009
Gordon Hayward, Butler, 2010
Norris Cole, Cleveland State, 2011
Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso, 2012
Ray McCallum Jr., Detroit Mercy, 2013
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay, 2014 and 2015
Kay Felder, Oakland, 2016
Loudon Love, Wright State, 2020 and 2021
Season Player School Position Class Reference
1979–80 Calvin Garrett Oral Roberts F Senior [1]
1980–81† Darius Clemons Loyola Chicago PG Junior [2]
Rubin Jackson Oklahoma City F Junior [2]
1981–82 Wayne Sappleton Loyola Chicago PF Senior [3]
1982–83† Mark Acres Oral Roberts C Sophomore [4]
Alfredrick Hughes Loyola Chicago SF Sophomore [4]
1983–84 Alfredrick Hughes (2) Loyola Chicago SF Junior [5]
1984–85 Alfredrick Hughes (3) Loyola Chicago SF Senior [6]
1985–86 Byron Larkin Xavier SG Sophomore [7]
1986–87 Andre Moore Loyola Chicago PF Senior [8]
1987–88 Byron Larkin (2) Xavier SG Senior [9]
1988–89 Scott Haffner Evansville PG Senior [10]
1989–90 Tyrone Hill Xavier PF Senior [11]
1990–91 Darin Archbold Butler SG Junior [12]
1991–92 Parrish Casebier Evansville PF Sophomore [13]
1992–93 Brian Grant Xavier PF / C Junior [14]
1993–94 Brian Grant (2) Xavier PF / C Senior [14]
1994–95 Sherell Ford UIC F Senior [15]
1995–96 Jeff Nordgaard Green Bay SF Senior [16]
1996–97 Jon Neuhouser Butler PF Junior [17]
1997–98 Mark Miller UIC G Senior [18]
1998–99 Jermaine Jackson Detroit Mercy SG Senior [19]
1999–00 Rashad Phillips Detroit Mercy PG Junior [20]
2000–01 Rashad Phillips (2) Detroit Mercy PG Senior [20]
2001–02 Rylan Hainje Butler SG Senior [21]
2002–03 Willie Green Detroit Mercy SG Senior [22]
2003–04 Dylan Page Milwaukee PF / C Senior [23]
2004–05 Ed McCants Milwaukee SG Senior [24]
2005–06 Brandon Polk Butler F Senior [25]
2006–07 DaShaun Wood Wright State PG Senior [26]
2007–08 Mike Green Butler SG Senior [27]
2008–09 Matt Howard Butler PF Sophomore [28]
2009–10 Gordon Hayward Butler SG Sophomore [29]
2010–11 Norris Cole Cleveland State PG Senior [30]
2011–12 Ryan Broekhoff Valparaiso SF Junior [31]
2012–13 Ray McCallum Jr. Detroit Mercy PG Junior [32]
2013–14 Keifer Sykes Green Bay PG Junior [33]
2014–15 Keifer Sykes (2) Green Bay PG Senior [33]
2015–16 Kay Felder Oakland PG Junior [34]
2016–17 Alec Peters Valparaiso SF Senior [35]
2017–18 Kendrick Nunn Oakland SG Senior [36]
2018–19 Drew McDonald Northern Kentucky PF / C Senior [37]
2019–20 Loudon Love Wright State C Junior [38]
2020–21 Loudon Love (2) Wright State C Senior [38]
2021–22† Jamal Cain Oakland PF Graduate [39]
Antoine Davis Detroit Mercy SG Senior [39]
2022–23 Antoine Davis (2) Detroit Mercy SG Graduate [40]
2023–24 Trey Townsend Oakland SF Senior [41]

Winners by school

School (year joined) Winners Years
Butler (1980)[a] 7 1991, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
Detroit Mercy (1981) 7 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2013, 2022†, 2023
Loyola Chicago (1980)[b] 6 1981†, 1982, 1983†, 1984, 1985, 1987
Xavier (1980)[c] 5 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994
Oakland (2013) 4 2016, 2018, 2022†, 2024
Green Bay (1995) 3 1996, 2014, 2015
Wright State (1995) 3 2007, 2020, 2021
Evansville (1980)[d] 2 1989, 1992
Milwaukee (1995) 2 2004, 2005
Oral Roberts (1980)[e] 2 1980, 1983†
UIC (1995)[f] 2 1995, 1998
Valparaiso (2008)[g] 2 2012, 2017
Cleveland State (1995) 1 2011
Northern Kentucky (2015) 1 2019
Oklahoma City (1980)[h] 1 1981†
IU Indy (2017)[i] 0 —
Purdue Fort Wayne (2020) 0 —
Robert Morris (2020) 0 —
Youngstown State (2002) 0 —
  1. ^ Butler University left after 2011–12 to join the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), and joined the Big East Conference in 2013.
  2. ^ Loyola University Chicago left after 2012–13 to join the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), and joined the A-10 in July 2022.
  3. ^ Xavier University left after 1995–96 to join the A-10, and joined the Big East in 2013.
  4. ^ The University of Evansville left after 1993–94 to join the MVC.
  5. ^ Oral Roberts University left after 1986–87 to join the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as The Summit League). Apart from a two-season stint in the Southland Conference from 2012 to 2014, it has remained in The Summit League.
  6. ^ The University of Illinois Chicago left after the 2021–22 season to join the MVC.
  7. ^ Valparaiso University left after 2016–17 to join the MVC.
  8. ^ Oklahoma City University left after 1984–85 to join the Sooner Athletic Conference in the NAIA.
  9. ^ Joined the Horizon League as IUPUI, reflecting its then-current affiliation with Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. The athletic program transferred to the new Indiana University Indianapolis upon the dissolution of IUPUI on July 1, 2024, with a primary athletic branding as IU Indy.

References

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