American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

The American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the American Conference's most outstanding player. The conference formed in 2013–14 after many schools departed from the original Big East Conference to form their own conference. The conference was called the American Athletic Conference from its inception up until July 21, 2025, at which time it was formally rebranded. Shabazz Napier of UConn was the first-ever winner.

American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Awarded for	the most outstanding basketball player in the American Conference
Country	United States
History
First award	2014
Most recent	PJ Haggerty, Memphis

Key

†	Co-Players of the Year
*	Awarded a national player of the year award: 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 had been awarded the AAC Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

Shabazz Napier, UConn, 2014

Nic Moore, SMU, 2015 and 2016

Semi Ojeleye, SMU, 2017

Gary Clark, Cincinnati, 2018

Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati, 2019

Precious Achiuwa, Memphis, 2020

Tyson Etienne, Wichita State, 2021

Quentin Grimes, Houston, 2021

Season	Player	School	Position	Class	Reference
2013–14	Shabazz Napier	UConn	PG	Senior	[1]
2014–15	Nic Moore	SMU	PG	Junior	[2]
2015–16	Nic Moore (2)	SMU	PG	Senior	[2]
2016–17	Semi Ojeleye	SMU	PF	Junior	[3]
2017–18	Gary Clark	Cincinnati	PF	Senior	[4]
2018–19	Jarron Cumberland	Cincinnati	SG	Junior	[5]
2019–20	Precious Achiuwa	Memphis	PF	Freshman	[6]
2020–21†	Tyson Etienne	Wichita State	PG / SG	Sophomore	[7]
	Quentin Grimes	Houston	SG	Junior	[8]
2021–22	Kendric Davis	SMU	PG	Senior	[9]
2022–23	Marcus Sasser	Houston	PG / SG	Senior	[10]
2023–24†	Johnell Davis	Florida Atlantic	PG / SG	Junior	[11]
	Chris Youngblood	South Florida	SG	Senior	[11]
2024–25	PJ Haggerty	Memphis	SG	Junior	[12]

Winners by school

The "year joined" reflects the calendar year in which each school joined the conference. Years for each award reflect the calendar year in which each season ended.

School (year joined)	Winners	Years
SMU (2013)[a]	4	2015, 2016, 2017, 2022
Cincinnati (2013)[b]	2	2018, 2019
Houston (2013)[b]	2	2021†, 2023
Memphis (2013)	2	2020, 2025
Florida Atlantic (2023)	1	2024†
South Florida (2013)	1	2024†
UConn (2013)[c]	1	2014
Wichita State (2017)	1	2021†
Charlotte (2023)	0	—
East Carolina (2014)	0	—
Louisville (2013)[d]	0	—
North Texas (2023)	0	—
Rice (2023)	0	—
Rutgers (2013)[d]	0	—
Temple (2013)	0	—
Tulane (2014)	0	—
Tulsa (2014)	0	—
UAB (2023)	0	—
UCF (2013)[b]	0	—
UTSA (2023)	0	—

1. SMU will leave for the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 2023–24 season.
2. Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF left for the Big 12 Conference after the 2022–23 season.
3. UConn left for the Big East Conference after the 2019–20 season.
4. Louisville and Rutgers played only the 2013–14 season in The American. In July 2014, they respectively left for the ACC and Big Ten.