Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Basketball award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to Conference USA's (CUSA) most outstanding player. The award was first given following CUSA's inaugural 1995–96 season. Two players have received the award multiple times: Danny Fortson (1996, 1997) and Steve Logan (2001, 2002). Coincidentally, both players attended the University of Cincinnati. Another Bearcat, Kenyon Martin, won the CUSA Player of the Year award the same season he was selected as the consensus national player of the year (2000).
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in Conference USA |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 1996 |
| Most recent | Zach Cleveland, Liberty |
Cincinnati and Memphis have the most awards, with five each; Memphis has the most individual winners, with all of its awards having been won by different players. However, neither school is currently a member of the conference. Due to CUSA having lost many members in all three of the major conference realignment cycles of the 21st century (2005, early 2010s, and 2020s), only four of the 12 current member schools have had a winner, with only Middle Tennessee having had more than one. Delaware and Missouri State played their first CUSA seasons in 2025–26.
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 Conference USA Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
.jpg)
Winners by school
Years of joining reflect the start of the first season of basketball competition for each school, which coincides with the schools' arrival in CUSA except in the special case of Houston. Award years reflect the calendar years in which each season ended.
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati (1995)[a] | 5 | 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| Memphis (1995)[b] | 5 | 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 |
| Louisiana Tech (2013)[c] | 3 | 2015, 2016, 2024 |
| Middle Tennessee (2013) | 3 | 2014, 2017, 2018 |
| Charlotte (1995/2013)[a][d] | 2 | 1998, 2005 |
| North Texas (2013)[e] | 2 | 2020, 2023 |
| UAB (1995)[e] | 2 | 2011, 2022 |
| DePaul (1995)[a] | 1 | 1999 |
| Jacksonville State (2023) | 1 | 2025 |
| Liberty (2023) | 1 | 2026 |
| Marquette (1995)[a] | 1 | 2003 |
| Old Dominion (2013)[f] | 1 | 2019 |
| Rice (2005)[e] | 1 | 2007 |
| UCF (2005)[b] | 1 | 2009 |
| UTEP (2005)[g] | 1 | 2010 |
| Western Kentucky (2014) | 1 | 2021 |
| Delaware (2025) | 0 | — |
| East Carolina (2001)[h] | 0 | — |
| FIU (2013) | 0 | — |
| Florida Atlantic (2013)[e] | 0 | — |
| Houston (1996)[b][i] | 0 | — |
| Kennesaw State (2024) | 0 | — |
| Marshall (2005)[f] | 0 | — |
| Missouri State (2025) | 0 | — |
| New Mexico State (2023) | 0 | — |
| Sam Houston (2023) | 0 | — |
| SMU (2005)[b] | 0 | — |
| Southern Miss (1995)[f] | 0 | — |
| Tulane (1995)[h] | 0 | — |
| Tulsa (2005)[h] | 0 | — |
| UTSA (2013)[e] | 0 | — |
- Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul and Marquette were founding members of CUSA in 1995, but all joined other conferences in 2005. Charlotte left for the Atlantic 10 Conference while the other three left for the Big East Conference. Following the 2013 split of the Big East into a non-football Big East and the football-sponsoring American Athletic Conference (now known as the American Conference), Cincinnati joined the American, while DePaul and Marquette remained in the current Big East. Cincinnati would move to the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
- Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF left for the American in 2013. Houston and UCF moved to the Big 12 in 2023, and SMU moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.
- Louisiana Tech left in 2026 to rejoin the Sun Belt Conference, which it had left in 2001.
- Charlotte rejoined CUSA in 2013, but moved to the American in 2023.
- Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA joined the American alongside Charlotte in 2023.
- Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
- UTEP joined the Mountain West Conference in 2026.
- East Carolina, Tulane, and Tulsa joined the American in 2014.
- The University of Houston was a founding member in 1995, but did not begin competing until 1996 because of its commitments to the final year of competition of the Southwest Conference.