NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

List of NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) winners

Each year since the start of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, the Associated Press (AP) has named one player from the Division I men’s tournament as the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP). The AP has also awarded a MOP title on the women’s side, starting with the first women’s tournament in 1982. UCLA is the program with the most men’s winners (nine), followed by Kentucky (seven), Duke, Kansas (six each), North Carolina and Connecticut (five each). UCLA‘s Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) is the only player to win three times, while four others have won it twice.

The award is usually given to a member of the title-winning team, as has been the case every year since 1984. However, there are 12 instances – notated with a (*) below – in which the MOP’s team did not win the title. See also: NCAA Champions/Final Four Teams.

Year Player School
1939* Jimmy Hull Ohio State
1940 Marvin Huffman Indiana
1941 John Kotz Wisconsin
1942 Howie Dallmar Stanford
1943 Ken Sailors Wyoming
1944 Arnie Ferrin Utah
1945 Bob Kurland Oklahoma A&M
1946 Bob Kurland (2) Oklahoma A&M (2)
1947 George Kaftan Holy Cross
1948 Alex Groza Kentucky
1949 Alex Groza (2) Kentucky (2)
1950 Irwin Dambrot CCNY
1951 Bill Spivey Kentucky (3)
1952 Clyde Lovellette Kansas
1953* B. H. Born Kansas (2)
1954 Tom Gola La Salle
1955 Bill Russell San Francisco
1956* Hal Lear Temple
1957* Wilt Chamberlain Kansas (3)
1958* Elgin Baylor Seattle
1959* Jerry West West Virginia
1960 Jerry Lucas Ohio State (2)
1961* Jerry Lucas (2) Ohio State (3)
1962* Paul Hogue Cincinnati
1963* Art Heyman Duke
1964 Walt Hazzard UCLA
1965* Bill Bradley Princeton
1966* Jerry Chambers Utah (2)
1967 Lew Alcindor UCLA (2)
1968 Lew Alcindor (2) UCLA (3)
1969 Lew Alcindor (3) UCLA (4)
1970 Sidney Wicks UCLA (5)
1971^ vacated
1972 Bill Walton UCLA (6)
1973 Bill Walton (2) UCLA (7)
1974 David Thompson NC State
1975 Richard Washington UCLA (8)
1976 Kent Benson Indiana (2)
1977 Butch Lee Marquette
1978 Jack Givens Kentucky (4)
1979 Earvin “Magic” Johnson Michigan State
1980 Darrell Griffith Louisville
1981 Isiah Thomas Indiana (3)
1982 James Worthy North Carolina
1983* Akeem Olajuwon Houston
1984 Patrick Ewing Georgetown
1985 Ed Pinckney Villanova
1986 Pervis Ellison Louisville (2)
1987 Keith Smart Indiana (4)
1988 Danny Manning Kansas (4)
1989 Glen Rice Michigan
1990 Anderson Hunt UNLV
1991 Christian Laettner Duke (2)
1992 Bobby Hurley Duke (3)
1993 Donald Williams North Carolina (2)
1994 Corliss Williamson Arkansas
1995 Ed O’Bannon UCLA (9)
1996 Tony Delk Kentucky (5)
1997 Miles Simon Arizona
1998 Jeff Sheppard Kentucky (6)
1999 Richard Hamilton Connecticut
2000 Mateen Cleaves Michigan State (2)
2001 Shane Battier Duke (4)
2002 Juan Dixon Maryland
2003 Carmelo Anthony Syracuse
2004 Emeka Okafor Connecticut (2)
2005 Sean May North Carolina (3)
2006 Joakim Noah Florida
2007 Corey Brewer Florida (2)
2008 Mario Chalmers Kansas (5)
2009 Wayne Ellington North Carolina (4)
2010 Kyle Singler Duke (5)
2011 Kemba Walker Connecticut (3)
2012 Anthony Davis Kentucky (7)
2013 Luke Hancock Louisville (3)
2014 Shabazz Napier Connecticut (4)
2015 Tyus Jones Duke (6)
2016 Ryan Arcidiacono Villanova (2)
2017 Joel Berry II North Carolina (5)
2018 Donte DiVincenzo Villanova (3)
2019 Kyle Guy Virginia
2020 tournament cancelled
2021 Jared Butler Baylor
2022 Ochai Agbaji Kansas (6)
2023 Adama Sanogo Connecticut (5)
2024

^ The 1971 award was given to Villanova‘s Howard Porter, but was vacated when Porter was found to have been ineligible

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