United Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Basketball award From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The United Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the United Athletic Conference's (UAC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1980–81 season when the conference was still known as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Keith Van Horn of Utah and Nick Fazekas of Nevada are the only players to have won the award three times. Three other players—Michael Cage, Josh Grant and Melvin Ely—have won the award twice. Danny Ainge, the first ever WAC Player of the Year, was also the John R. Wooden Award winner in 1980–81.

Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the United Athletic Conference
CountryUnited States
First award1981
Most recentDominique Daniels Jr., California Baptist
Quick facts Awarded for, Country ...
UAC Men's Basketball
Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the United Athletic Conference
CountryUnited States
History
First award1981
Most recentDominique Daniels Jr., California Baptist
Close

Utah has the most all-time winners with seven. There have been four ties in the award's history, most notably in 1982–83 when there was a three-way tie. Due mainly to major membership turnover from 2010 to 2014 and further turnover in the 2020s, no current UAC member has a winner.

In 2026, the WAC rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which expanded from a football-only alliance between the WAC and Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) to a multi-sports league. Three of the seven WAC members transfered to the UAC: Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, and UT Arlington. Of the six other UAC all-sports members in 2026–27, five came from the ASUN, with Little Rock joining from the Ohio Valley Conference.

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 UAC Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

Danny Ainge, BYU, 1981
Michael Cage, San Diego State, 1983 and 1984
Michael Smith, BYU, 1988
Tim Hardaway, UTEP, 1989
Keith Van Horn, Utah, 1995 through 1997
Anthony Carter, Hawaii, 1997
Andre Miller, Utah, 1999
Quinton Ross, SMU, 2003
Kirk Snyder, Nevada, 2004
Nick Fazekas, Nevada, 2005 through 2007
Jaycee Carroll, Utah State, 2008
Gary Wilkinson, Utah State, 2009
Luke Babbitt, Nevada, 2010
Kyle Barone, Idaho, 2013
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State, 2014
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State, 2016
Jemerrio Jones, New Mexico State, 2018
Jake Toolson, Utah Valley, 2019
More information Season, Player ...
Season Player School Position Class Reference
1980–81 Danny Ainge* BYU SG Senior [1]
1981–82 Bill Garnett Wyoming SF Senior [2]
1982–83† Michael Cage San Diego State C Junior [3]
Devin Durrant BYU SF Junior [3]
Pace Mannion Utah SG Senior [3]
1983–84 Michael Cage (2) San Diego State C Senior [4]
1984–85 Timo Saarelainen BYU SF Senior [5]
1985–86 Anthony Watson San Diego State F Senior [6]
1986–87 Fennis Dembo Wyoming SF Senior [7]
1987–88 Michael Smith BYU SF Junior [8]
1988–89 Tim Hardaway UTEP PG Senior [9]
1989–90 Mike Mitchell Colorado State F Senior [10]
1990–91 Josh Grant Utah PF Junior [11]
1991–92 Reggie Slater Wyoming F Senior [12]
1992–93 Josh Grant (2) Utah PF Senior [13]
1993–94 Greg Brown New Mexico PG Senior [14]
1994–95 Keith Van Horn Utah SG / SF Sophomore [15]
1995–96 Keith Van Horn (2) Utah SG / SF Junior [15]
1996–97† Anthony Carter Hawaii PG Junior [15]
Keith Van Horn (3) Utah SG / SF Senior [15]
1997–98† Lee Nailon TCU PF Junior [16]
Clayton Shields New Mexico SG / SF Senior [16]
1998–99† Andre Miller Utah PG Senior [17]
Jeryl Sasser SMU SG Sophomore [17]
1999–00 Courtney Alexander Fresno State SG Senior [18]
2000–01 Melvin Ely Fresno State C Junior [19]
2001–02 Melvin Ely (2) Fresno State C Senior [19]
2002–03 Quinton Ross SMU PF Senior [20]
2003–04 Kirk Snyder Nevada SG / SF Junior [21]
2004–05 Nick Fazekas Nevada PF / C Sophomore [22]
2005–06 Nick Fazekas (2) Nevada PF / C Junior [22]
2006–07 Nick Fazekas (3) Nevada PF / C Senior [22]
2007–08 Jaycee Carroll Utah State SG Senior [23]
2008–09 Gary Wilkinson Utah State F Senior [24]
2009–10 Luke Babbitt Nevada PF Sophomore [25]
2010–11 Tai Wesley Utah State PF Senior [26]
2011–12 Deonte Burton Nevada PG Sophomore [27]
2012–13 Kyle Barone Idaho C Senior [28]
2013–14 Daniel Mullings New Mexico State SG Junior [29]
2014–15 Martez Harrison Kansas City SG / PG Sophomore [30]
2015–16 Pascal Siakam New Mexico State PF Sophomore [31]
2016–17 Ian Baker New Mexico State PG Senior [32]
2017–18 Jemerrio Jones New Mexico State PF Senior [33]
2018–19 Jake Toolson Utah Valley SG Junior [34]
2019–20 Milan Acquaah California Baptist SG Junior [35]
2020–21 Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley C Sophomore [36]
2021–22 Teddy Allen New Mexico State SG Junior [37]
2022–23 Qua Grant Sam Houston PG Senior [38]
2023–24 Tyon Grant-Foster Grand Canyon SG Graduate [39]
2024–25 Dominick Nelson Utah Valley PG Junior [40]
2025–26 Dominique Daniels Jr. California Baptist PG Senior [41]
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Winners by school

More information School (year joined), Winners ...
School (year joined) Winners Years
Utah (1962)[a] 7 1983†, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997†, 1999†
Nevada (2000)[b] 6 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012
New Mexico State (2005)[c] 5 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022
BYU (1962)[a] 4 1981, 1983†, 1985, 1988
Fresno State (1992)[b] 3 2000, 2001, 2002
San Diego State (1978)[a] 3 1983†, 1984, 1986
Utah State (2005)[d] 3 2008, 2009, 2011
Utah Valley (2013)[e] 3 2019, 2021, 2025
Wyoming (1962)[a] 3 1982, 1987, 1992
California Baptist (2018)[e] 2 2020, 2026
New Mexico (1962)[a] 2 1994, 1998†
SMU (1996)[f] 2 1999†, 2003
Colorado State (1967)[a] 1 1990
Grand Canyon (2013)[g] 1 2024
Hawaiʻi (1979)[h] 1 1997
Idaho (2005)[i] 1 2013
Kansas City (2013)[j] 1 2015
Sam Houston (2021)[c] 1 2023
TCU (1996)[k] 1 1998†
UTEP (1967)[f] 1 1989
Abilene Christian (2021)[l] 0 —
Boise State (2001)[m] 0 —
Chicago State (2013)[n] 0 —
CSU Bakersfield (2013)[o] 0 —
Denver (2012)[d] 0 —
Lamar (2021)[p] 0 —
Louisiana Tech (2001)[d] 0 —
San Jose State (1996)[d] 0 —
Seattle (2012)[q] 0 —
Southern Utah (2022)[r] 0 —
Stephen F. Austin (2021)[s] 0 —
Tarleton State (2020)[l] 0 —
Texas State (2012)[d] 0 —
UT Arlington (2012/2022)[d] 0 —
Utah Tech[t] (2020)[r] 0 —
UTRGV (2013)[u][v] 0 —
UTSA (2012)[d] 0 —
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  1. [a]
    BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming all left in 1999 to become charter members of the Mountain West Conference (MW). Of these schools:
  2. [b]
    Nevada and Fresno State left for the MW in 2012. Fresno State is now in the Pac-12.
  3. [c]
    New Mexico State and Sam Houston left for Conference USA in 2023.
  4. [d]
    Seven schools left the WAC for other conferences in 2013:
    • Denver joined The Summit League after only one year in the WAC, and joined the West Coast Conference in 2026.
    • Louisiana Tech and UTSA joined Conference USA (CUSA), the latter after spending only one year in the WAC. Louisiana Tech moved from there to the Sun Belt Conference in 2026.
    • San Jose State and Utah State joined the MW; Utah State moved from there to the Pac-12 in 2026.
    • Texas State and UT Arlington joined the Sun Belt after only one year in the WAC. Texas State also joined the Pac-12 in 2026.
      • UT Arlington rejoined the WAC in 2022, and it remained a member through the conference's 2026 rebranding as the UAC.
  5. [e]
    California Baptist and Utah Valley joined the Big West Conference in 2026.
  6. [f]
    SMU and UTEP both left in 2005 to join CUSA. SMU joined the American Athletic Conference (now the American Conference) in 2013 and moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024. UTEP joined the MW in 2026.
  7. [g]
    Grand Canyon joined the MW in 2025.
  8. [h]
    Hawaiʻi left for the Big West in 2012, and joined its football team in the MW in 2026.
  9. [i]
    Idaho left the WAC in 2014 for the Big Sky.
  10. [j]
    The University of Missouri–Kansas City, which left the WAC after the 2019–20 season to rejoin its former conference home of the Summit League, changed its athletic brand to "Kansas City" after the 2018–19 season.
  11. [k]
    TCU left in 2001 for CUSA. It is now in the Big 12.
  12. [l]
    The WAC memberships of Abilene Christian and Tarleton State transferred to the UAC in 2026.
  13. [m]
    Boise State left in 2011 for the MW, and moved to the Pac-12 in 2026.
  14. [n]
    Chicago State left the WAC in 2022, becoming a Division I independent. It joined the Northeast Conference, now officially known as the NEC, in 2024.
  15. [o]
    CSU Bakersfield, now in the process of an athletic rebranding as Bakersfield, left for the Big West in 2020.
  16. [p]
    Lamar left the WAC in 2022 after only one season, returning to its previous home of the Southland Conference (SLC).
  17. [q]
    Seattle joined the West Coast Conference in 2025.
  18. [r]
    Southern Utah and Utah Tech joined the Big Sky Conference in 2026.
  19. [s]
    Stephen F. Austin returned to its previous home of the SLC in 2024.
  20. [t]
    Known as Dixie State before the 2022–23 season.
  21. [u]
    UTRGV left the WAC for the SLC after the 2023–24 season.
  22. [v]
    The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) entered into full operation in 2015 with the merger of the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), which had joined the WAC in 2013, and the University of Texas at Brownsville. Because UTRGV directly inherited the UTPA athletic program. it is credited with all UTPA historic records, and maintains UTPA's WAC membership.

References

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