Sporting News Player of the Year

List of Sporting News Player of the Year winners

Beginning in 1943, Sporting News Magazine has awarded the Sporting News Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year Award (or simply Sporting News Player of the Year Award) to the best Division I men’s college basketball player of the season. Though technically the oldest active POY award, there was no winner selected between 1947-49 or 1952-57. Two players have won the award three times: Cincinnati‘s Oscar Robertson (1958-60) and UCLA‘s Bill Walton (1972-74). Duke and UCLA are the programs with the most winners (seven), followed by North Carolina (five) and Cincinnati (four). See also: Sporting News Coach of the Year

Year Player School
1943 Andy Phillip Illinois
1944 Dale Hall Army
1945 George Mikan DePaul
1946 Bob Kurland Oklahoma A&M
1947-49 none none
1950 Paul Arizin Villanova
1951 Sherman White Long Island
1952-57 none none
1958 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati
1959 Oscar Robertson (2) Cincinnati (2)
1960 Oscar Robertson (3) Cincinnati (3)
1961 Jerry Lucas Ohio State
1962 Jerry Lucas (2) Ohio State (2)
1963 Art Heyman Duke
1964 Bill Bradley Princeton
1965 Bill Bradley (2) Princeton (2)
1966 Cazzie Russell Michigan
1967 Lew Alcindor UCLA
1968 Elvin Hayes Houston
1969 Lew Alcindor (2) UCLA (2)
1970 Pete Maravich LSU
1971 Sidney Wicks UCLA (3)
1972 Bill Walton UCLA (4)
1973 Bill Walton (2) UCLA (5)
1974 Bill Walton (3) UCLA (6)
1975 David Thompson NC State
1976 Scott May Indiana
1977 Marques Johnson UCLA (7)
1978 Phil Ford North Carolina
1979 Larry Bird Indiana State
1980 Darrell Griffith Louisville
1981 Mark Aguirre DePaul (2)
1982 Ralph Sampson Virginia
1983 Michael Jordan North Carolina (2)
1984 Michael Jordan (2) North Carolina (3)
1985 Patrick Ewing Georgetown
1986 Walter Berry St. John’s
1987 David Robinson Navy
1988 Hersey Hawkins Bradley
1989 Stacey King Oklahoma
1990 Dennis Scott Georgia Tech
1991 Larry Johnson UNLV
1992 Christian Laettner Duke (2)
1993 Calbert Cheaney Indiana (2)
1994 Glenn Robinson Purdue
1995 Shawn Respert Michigan State
1996 Marcus Camby UMass
1997 Tim Duncan Wake Forest
1998 Antawn Jamison North Carolina (4)
1999 Elton Brand Duke (3)
2000 Kenyon Martin Cincinnati (4)
2001 Shane Battier Duke (4)
2002 Jay Williams Duke (5)
2003 T. J. Ford Texas
2004 Jameer Nelson Saint Joseph’s
2005 Dee Brown Illinois (2)
2006 JJ Redick Duke (6)
2007 Kevin Durant Texas (2)
2008 Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina (5)
2009 Blake Griffin Oklahoma (2)
2010 Evan Turner Ohio State (3)
2011 Jimmer Fredette BYU
2012 Anthony Davis Kentucky
2013 Victor Oladipo Indiana (3)
2014 Doug McDermott Creighton
2015 Frank Kaminsky Wisconsin
2016 Buddy Hield Oklahoma (3)
2017 Frank Mason III Kansas
2018 Jalen Brunson Villanova (2)
2019 Zion Williamson Duke (7)
2020 Luka Garza Iowa
2021 Luka Garza (2) Iowa (2)
2022 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky (2)
2023 Zach Edey Purdue (2)
2024 Zach Edey (2) Purdue (3)
2025

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