West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

WCC Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the West Coast Conference
CountryUnited States
History
First award1953
Most recentAugustas Marčiulionis,
Saint Mary's

The West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The award was first given following the conference's inaugural 1952–53 season, when it was known as the California Basketball Association. The only season in which the award was not presented was the conference's second season of 1953–54. There have been six ties in the award's history, most recently in 2022–23 between Brandin Podziemski of Santa Clara and Drew Timme of Gonzaga. There have also been 13 repeat winners, but only one, Bill Cartwright of San Francisco, has been player of the year three times.

Four schools in the WCC have dominated the total awards distribution. Before 2000, Pepperdine, San Francisco and Santa Clara had earned the bulk of the awards. Since then, Gonzaga has had the overwhelming majority of selections. In the 23 seasons from 2000–01 to the present, coinciding with the Bulldogs' rise to national prominence, Gonzaga players have won or shared the award 17 times. Gonzaga now claims the most awards with 20 and most individual winners with 18. Santa Clara is second in awards with 12, and its nine individual winners give it a share of second place in that category with Pepperdine. The next closest school, Saint Mary's, has nine awards. One current member has yet to have a winner (Portland); two other schools, Oregon State and Washington State, will play their first WCC season in 2024–25.

Key

[edit]
† 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 WCC Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

[edit]
Ken Sears, Santa Clara, 1953 and 1955
Bill Russell, San Francisco, 1956
Jerry Grote, Loyola Marymount, 1960
Tom Meschery, Saint Mary's, 1961
Harry Dinnel, Pepperdine, 1962
Steve Gray, Saint Mary's, 1962 and 1963
Ollie Johnson, San Francisco, 1964 and 1965
Keith Swagerty, Pacific, 1966 and 1967
Marcos Leite, Pepperdine, 1976
Bill Cartwright, San Francisco, 1977 through 1979
John Stockton, Gonzaga, 1984
Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount, 1989
Doug Christie, Pepperdine, 1991 and 1992
Steve Nash, Santa Clara, 1995 and 1996
Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga, 2005
Adam Morrison, Gonzaga, 2006
Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga, 2008
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's, 2012
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga, 2013
Tyler Haws, BYU, 2014
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga, 2019
Drew Timme, Gonzaga, 2022 and 2023
Season Player School Position Class Reference
1952–53 Ken Sears Santa Clara PF Sophomore [1]
1953–54 None selected[1]
1954–55 Ken Sears (2) Santa Clara PF Senior [2]
1955–56 Bill Russell * San Francisco C Senior [3]
1956–57 Mike Farmer San Francisco PF Junior [4]
1957–58† Mike Farmer (2) San Francisco PF Senior [4]
Leroy Wright Pacific PF Junior [1]
1958–59† LaRoy Doss Saint Mary's PF Senior [5]
Leroy Wright (2) Pacific PF Senior [5]
1959–60 Jerry Grote Loyola Marymount SG / PG Sophomore [6]
1960–61 Tom Meschery Saint Mary's PF Senior [7]
1961–62† Harry Dinnel Pepperdine SF / SG Junior [8]
Steve Gray Saint Mary's G Junior [8]
1962–63 Steve Gray (2) Saint Mary's G Senior [9]
1963–64 Ollie Johnson San Francisco C Junior [10]
1964–65 Ollie Johnson (2) San Francisco C Senior [10]
1965–66 Keith Swagerty Pacific F Junior [11]
1966–67 Keith Swagerty (2) Pacific F Senior [11]
1967–68 Rick Adelman Loyola Marymount SG Senior [12]
1968–69 Dennis Awtrey Santa Clara C Junior [13]
1969–70 Dennis Awtrey (2) Santa Clara C Senior [13]
1970–71 John Gianelli Pacific C / PF Junior [14]
1971–72 Mike Stewart Santa Clara C Junior [15]
1972–73 Bird Averitt Pepperdine PG Junior [16]
1973–74 Frank Oleynick Seattle SG Sophomore [17]
1974–75 Ricky Sobers UNLV G Senior [18]
1975–76 Marcos Leite Pepperdine PF Junior [19]
1976–77 Bill Cartwright San Francisco C Sophomore [20]
1977–78 Bill Cartwright (2) San Francisco C Junior [20]
1978–79 Bill Cartwright (3) San Francisco C Senior [20]
1979–80 Kurt Rambis Santa Clara SF Senior [21]
1980–81 Quintin Dailey San Francisco SG Sophomore [22]
1981–82 Quintin Dailey (2) San Francisco SG Junior [22]
1982–83† Orlando Phillips Pepperdine C Senior [23]
Dane Suttle Pepperdine G Senior [23]
1983–84 John Stockton Gonzaga PG Senior [24]
1984–85 Dwayne Polee Pepperdine SF / SG Junior [25]
1985–86 Dwayne Polee (2) Pepperdine SF / SG Senior [25]
1986–87 Scott Thompson San Diego C Senior [26]
1987–88 Levy Middlebrooks Pepperdine PF Senior [27]
1988–89 Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount PF Junior [28]
1989–90 Bo Kimble Loyola Marymount SG Senior [1]
1990–91 Doug Christie Pepperdine SG Junior [29]
1991–92 Doug Christie (2) Pepperdine SG Senior [29]
1992–93 Dana Jones Pepperdine SF Junior [30]
1993–94 Jeff Brown Gonzaga PF Senior [31]
1994–95 Steve Nash Santa Clara PG Junior [32]
1995–96 Steve Nash (2) Santa Clara PG Senior [32]
1996–97 Marlon Garnett Santa Clara G Senior [33]
1997–98 Bakari Hendrix Gonzaga PF Senior [34]
1998–99 Eric Schraeder Saint Mary's PF Senior [35]
1999–00 Kenyon Jones San Francisco C Senior [36]
2000–01 Casey Calvary Gonzaga PF Senior [37]
2001–02 Dan Dickau Gonzaga PG Senior [38]
2002–03 Blake Stepp Gonzaga PG Junior [39]
2003–04 Blake Stepp (2) Gonzaga PG Senior [39]
2004–05 Ronny Turiaf Gonzaga C Senior [40]
2005–06 Adam Morrison Gonzaga SF Junior [41]
2006–07† Sean Denison Santa Clara F Senior [42]
Derek Raivio Gonzaga PG / SG Senior [42]
2007–08 Jeremy Pargo Gonzaga PG Junior [43]
2008–09 John Bryant Santa Clara C Senior [44]
2009–10 Matt Bouldin Gonzaga SG Senior [45]
2010–11 Mickey McConnell Saint Mary's PG Senior [46]
2011–12 Matthew Dellavedova Saint Mary's PG Junior [47]
2012–13 Kelly Olynyk Gonzaga C Junior [48]
2013–14 Tyler Haws BYU SG Junior [49]
2014–15 Kevin Pangos Gonzaga PG Senior [50]
2015–16 Kyle Collinsworth BYU PG Senior [51]
2016–17 Nigel Williams-Goss Gonzaga PG Junior [52]
2017–18 Jock Landale Saint Mary's C Senior [53]
2018–19 Rui Hachimura Gonzaga PF Junior [54]
2019–20 Filip Petrušev Gonzaga PF Sophomore [55]
2020–21 Corey Kispert Gonzaga SF Senior [56]
2021–22 Drew Timme Gonzaga PF Junior [39]
2022–23† Brandin Podziemski Santa Clara SG Sophomore [39]
Drew Timme (2) Gonzaga PF Senior [39]
2023–24 Augustas Marčiulionis Saint Mary's PG Junior [57]

Winners by school

[edit]
School (year joined) Winners Years
Gonzaga (1979)[a] 20 1984, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007†, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023†
Santa Clara (1952) 12 1953, 1955, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1980, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007†, 2009, 2023†
Pepperdine (1955) 11 1962†, 1973, 1976, 1983 (×2)†, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993
San Francisco (1952) 11 1956, 1957, 1958†, 1964, 1965, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 2000
Saint Mary's (1952) 9 1959†, 1961, 1962†, 1963, 1999, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2024
Pacific (1952/2013)[b] 5 1958†, 1959†, 1966, 1967, 1971
Loyola Marymount (1955) 4 1960, 1968, 1989, 1990
BYU (2011)[c] 2 2014, 2016
San Diego (1979) 1 1987
Seattle (1971)[d] 1 1974
UNLV (1969)[e] 1 1975
Fresno State (1955)[f] 0 —
Nevada (1969)[g] 0 —
Oregon State (2024)[h] 0 —
Portland (1976) 0 —
San Jose State (1952)[i] 0 —
UC Santa Barbara (1964)[j] 0 —
Washington State (2024)[h] 0 —
  1. ^ Gonzaga University will leave the WCC in 2026 to join the Pac-12 Conference.
  2. ^ The University of the Pacific left in 1971 to join its football team in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as the Big West Conference. Pacific had been a charter PCAA member for football only in 1969. The school, which dropped football in 1995, rejoined the WCC in 2013.
  3. ^ Brigham Young University left the WCC in 2023 to join the Big 12 Conference.
  4. ^ Seattle University left in 1980 to become an NAIA school. It has since rejoined the NCAA, first as a Division II school and now in Division I, and is now a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Redhawks will rejoin the WCC in July 2025.[58]
  5. ^ The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) left in 1975 to become a Division I independent. UNLV is now a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
  6. ^ California State University, Fresno, more commonly known as Fresno State, spent two seasons as a dual member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the then-WCAC. The Bulldogs returned to exclusive CCAA membership in 1957, and are now in the MW.
  7. ^ The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada) left in 1979 for the Big Sky Conference. The Wolf Pack are now in the MW.
  8. ^ a b Oregon State University and Washington State University, the only schools that did not leave the Pac-12 in 2024, will leave the WCC upon the expiration of their affiliation contract in 2026, coinciding with the addition of at least six schools, including Gonzaga, to the Pac-12.
  9. ^ San Jose State University left in 1969 to become a founding member of the PCAA. The Spartans are now in the MW.
  10. ^ The University of California, Santa Barbara left in 1969 to become a founding member of the PCAA. Apart from a two-year stint in the mid-1970s in which they were independent, the Gauchos have remained in the PCAA/Big West to this day.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Men's West Coast Conference Player of the Year Winners". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ken Sears Noses Out Russell for Player of Year". Tulare Advance-Register. San Francisco, California. March 1, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "San Francisco's Don Russell Is Player of Year". Altus Times-Democrat. Altus, Oklahoma. March 15, 1956. p. 8. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Newell Named Coach Of Year; Farmer, Top Player". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. March 4, 1958. p. 25. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "All-WCAC Cage Team". The Times. San Mateo, California. March 12, 1959. p. 23. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "California Faces Upstart Bengals". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California. March 8, 1960. p. 11. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Meschery WCAC's Most Valuable". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. March 15, 1961. p. 64. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "Dinnel, Gray Head WCAC Cage Choices". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. March 21, 1962. p. 26. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Steve Gray Named MVP In WCAC". The Times. San Mateo, California. March 15, 1963. p. 19. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "USF Will Retire Basketball Star Ollie Johnson's Jersey Number 32". San Francisco Foghorn. San Francisco, California. October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Rodriguez, Bri (March 1, 2021). "Tiger Talk: History of Men's Basketball – 3/2". JoinPAF.org. Pacific Athletic Foundation. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Bronc Five Preparing For Lobos". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. March 11, 1968. p. 38. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Santa Clara Hall Of Honor Inductees: 2011 – Dennis Awtrey". WCCsports.com. West Coast Conference. 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Pacific's John Gianelli Most Valuable In ACAC". Kingsport Times-News. Kingsport, Tennessee. March 7, 1971. p. 22. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Mike Stewart Heads All-WCAC Selections". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. March 5, 1972. p. 33. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ ""Bird" Averitt sets eight WCAC marks". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. Los Gatos, California. March 17, 1973. p. 2. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Oleynick Is WCAC's Best". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton, Washington. March 12, 1974. p. 13. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "PGA Ratifies Crosby, Hope Classics". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. March 11, 1975. p. 26. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Pepperdine Waves..." The San Bernardino Sun. San Bernardino, California. March 18, 1976. p. 75. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c "Hall of Fame – William "Bill" Cartwright (1986)". USFDons.com. University of San Francisco. 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  21. ^ "Rambis tops WCAC picks". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. March 4, 1980. p. 45. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b "University of San Francisco All-American Quintin Dailey Passes". USFDons.com. University of San Francisco. November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Gault, Roy (March 18, 1983). "Waves after confidence-builder". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. p. 22. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Kelly, Stockton to play in benefit". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 25, 1984. p. 25. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ a b "The Greatest Waves at Every Number: #32". PepperdineWaves.com. Pepperdine University. July 13, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "USD (cont.)". Daily Times-Advocate. Escondido, California. March 6, 1987. p. 24. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Drooz, Alan (March 5, 1988). "Loyola Marymount Ready to Make a Run for It". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 57. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Lindgren, Jim (March 4, 1989). "USD Hopes for Familiar History – Notes". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 43. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ a b "Pepperdine Hall of Fame – Doug Christie (2009)". PepperdineWaves.com. Pepperdine University. 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  30. ^ "WCC honors for Broncos' coach". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. March 6, 1993. p. 23. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Boling, Dave (March 1, 1994). "Champ Zags are in tough". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 11. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ a b "Stephen J. "Steve" Nash '96". SCU.com. Bronco Bench Foundation. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  33. ^ McDonald, Jerry (March 2, 1997). "Santa Clara eliminated early again". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. p. 15. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "Gonzaga bomb dodges a bullet". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. March 1, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Thomas, Santangelo, Frahm named to NABC all-district team". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 4, 1999. p. 23. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Blackman, Frank (March 2, 2000). "USF hoping the weak shall inherit WCC Tournament". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 39. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "MSU Halfway there with victory over Gonzaga". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. March 23, 2001. p. 48. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Dickau's shooting lifts Zags into NCAAs". Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. March 6, 2002. p. 13. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ a b c d e Forsman, Cole (March 1, 2023). "Gonzaga's Drew Timme named West Coast Conference Player of the Year; Malachi Smith wins 6th Man". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  40. ^ Bergum, Steve (April 20, 2005). "Pargo accepts invite to play with all-stars". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 21. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "Morrison makes it official: 'It's been fun'". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. April 20, 2006. p. C0. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ a b Blanchette, John (February 28, 2007). "Raivio shares POY honors". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  43. ^ Meehan, Jim (April 16, 2008). "Pargo declares NBA draft eligibility". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 21. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ "All-WCC". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. March 3, 2009. p. 23. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Harris will return to play for Zags". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. April 2, 2010. p. B1. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ "Poole (cont.)". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. March 3, 2011. p. 24. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "Dellavedova named Player of the Year". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. February 29, 2012. p. A26. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ^ "Gonzaga vs. Southern: Marquee Players". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 18, 2013. p. B4. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ "Walters WCC coach of year". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. March 4, 2014. p. B9. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ^ "All-WCC". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. March 4, 2015. p. 29. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ^ Greene, Dana (March 1, 2016). "Kyle Collinsworth named WCC Player of the Year". abc4.com. ABC. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  52. ^ Grippi, Vince (March 8, 2017). "Multiple factors add up to one great team". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B4. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ^ Lawson, Theo (March 6, 2018). "BYU upsets Saint Mary's, will play Zags for title". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B5. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. ^ Meehan, Jim (March 13, 2019). "Orleans hits right notes". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B5. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  55. ^ "Petrusev (cont.)". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. July 21, 2020. p. B3. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ^ Meehan, Jim (May 29, 2021). "Kispert named Academic All-American". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  57. ^ Lawson, Theo (March 8, 2024). "Zags will take rewards over awards". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B5. Retrieved June 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  58. ^ "West Coast Conference Adds Grand Canyon University and Seattle University as Members" (Press release). West Coast Conference. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
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