AP College Basketball Player of the Year

The AP College Basketball Player of the Year is an award given by the Associated Press (AP) that recognizes the best men's and women's college basketball players of the year in the United States. The men's award began in 1961 while the women's began in 1995. The AP Player of the Year is one of the major national player of the year awards.

AP College Basketball
Player of the Year

Awarded for	the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players
Country	United States
Presented by	Accredited Associated Press media voters
History
First award	1961 (men) 1995 (women)
Most recent	Cooper Flagg, Duke (men) JuJu Watkins, USC (women)

According to APNews.com, "Voting is done at the conclusion of the regular season and before the NCAA tournament starts. Voting is based on regular season performance. The men's panel is made up of 62 media members who regularly cover college basketball and vote in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll. The women's panel consists of 35 media members. The voting panel includes local beat writers at newspapers and broadcast outlets, along with national media."^[1]

There have only been two total players, one on each of the men's and women's sides, to be named the AP Player of the Year three times: Ralph Sampson of Virginia (1981–1983), and Breanna Stewart of UConn (2014–2016).^[2]

Key

Player (X)

Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the AP Player of the Year at that point

Winners

Jerry Lucas, Ohio State, 1961 and 1962

Cazzie Russell, Michigan, 1966

Lew Alcindor^[a], UCLA, 1967 and 1969

Pete Maravich, LSU, 1970

Shaquille O'Neal, LSU, 1991

Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee, 1998 and 1999

Sue Bird, UConn, 2002

Andrew Bogut, Utah, 2005

Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 2007

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, 2009

Frank Mason III, Kansas, 2017

Breanna Stewart, UConn, 2014 through 2016

Aliyah Boston, South Carfolina, 2022

Cooper Flagg, Duke, 2025

Men Season Player School Position Class Reference 1960–61 Jerry Lucas Ohio State F / C Junior [3] 1961–62 Jerry Lucas (2) Ohio State F / C Senior [4] 1962–63 Art Heyman Duke G / F Senior [5] 1963–64 Gary Bradds Ohio State F Senior [6] 1964–65 Bill Bradley Princeton SF / SG Senior [7] 1965–66 Cazzie Russell Michigan SG Senior [8] 1966–67 Lew Alcindor[a] UCLA C Sophomore [9] 1967–68 Elvin Hayes Houston C Senior [10] 1968–69 Lew Alcindor[a] UCLA C Senior [11] 1969–70 Pete Maravich LSU PG Senior [12] 1970–71 Austin Carr Notre Dame SG Senior [13] 1971–72 Bill Walton UCLA C Sophomore [14] 1972–73 Bill Walton (2) UCLA C Junior [15] 1973–74 David Thompson NC State SG / SF Junior [16] 1974–75 David Thompson (2) NC State SG / SF Senior [17] 1975–76 Scott May Indiana SF Senior [18] 1976–77 Marques Johnson UCLA G / F Senior [19] 1977–78 Butch Lee Marquette PG Senior [20] 1978–79 Larry Bird Indiana State SF Senior [21] 1979–80 Mark Aguirre DePaul SF Sophomore [22] 1980–81 Ralph Sampson Virginia C Sophomore [23] 1981–82 Ralph Sampson (2) Virginia C Junior [23] 1982–83 Ralph Sampson (3) Virginia C Senior [23] 1983–84 Michael Jordan North Carolina SG Junior [24] 1984–85 Patrick Ewing Georgetown C Senior [25] 1985–86 Walter Berry St. John's PF Senior [26] 1986–87 David Robinson Navy C Senior [27] 1987–88 Hersey Hawkins Bradley SG Senior [28] 1988–89 Sean Elliott Arizona SF Senior [29] 1989–90 Lionel Simmons La Salle SF Senior [30] 1990–91 Shaquille O'Neal LSU C Sophomore [31] 1991–92 Christian Laettner Duke PF / C Senior [32] 1992–93 Calbert Cheaney Indiana SF Senior [33] 1993–94 Glenn Robinson Purdue SF Junior [34] 1994–95 Joe Smith Maryland PF Sophomore [35] 1995–96 Marcus Camby UMass C Junior [36] 1996–97 Tim Duncan Wake Forest C Senior [37] 1997–98 Antawn Jamison North Carolina SF Junior [38] 1998–99 Elton Brand Duke C Sophomore [39] 1999–00 Kenyon Martin Cincinnati PF Senior [40] 2000–01 Shane Battier Duke SF / SG Senior [41] 2001–02 Jason Williams Duke PG Junior [42] 2002–03 David West Xavier PF Senior [43] 2003–04 Jameer Nelson Saint Joseph's PG Senior [44] 2004–05 Andrew Bogut Utah C Sophomore [45] 2005–06 JJ Redick Duke SG Senior [46] 2006–07 Kevin Durant Texas SF Freshman [47] 2007–08 Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina PF Junior [48] 2008–09 Blake Griffin Oklahoma PF Sophomore [49] 2009–10 Evan Turner Ohio State SG Junior [50] 2010–11 Jimmer Fredette BYU SG Senior [51] 2011–12 Anthony Davis Kentucky C Freshman [52] 2012–13 Trey Burke Michigan PG Sophomore [53] 2013–14 Doug McDermott Creighton SF Senior [54] 2014–15 Frank Kaminsky Wisconsin PF Senior [55] 2015–16 Denzel Valentine Michigan State SG Senior [56] 2016–17 Frank Mason III Kansas PG Senior [57] 2017–18 Jalen Brunson Villanova PG Junior [58] 2018–19 Zion Williamson Duke PF Freshman [59] 2019–20 Obi Toppin Dayton PF Sophomore [60] 2020–21 Luka Garza Iowa C Senior [61] 2021–22 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky C Junior [62] 2022–23 Zach Edey Purdue C Junior [63] 2023–24 Zach Edey (2) Purdue C Senior [64] 2024–25 Cooper Flagg Duke SG / SF Freshman [65]

Women Season Player School Position Class Reference 1960–61 No award 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 Rebecca Lobo UConn C Senior [66] 1995–96 Jennifer Rizzotti UConn PG Senior [67] 1996–97 Kara Wolters UConn C Senior [68] 1997–98 Chamique Holdsclaw Tennessee SF Junior [38] 1998–99 Chamique Holdsclaw (2) Tennessee SF Senior [39] 1999–00 Tamika Catchings Tennessee SF Junior [69] 2000–01 Ruth Riley Notre Dame C Senior [70] 2001–02 Sue Bird UConn PG Senior [71] 2002–03 Diana Taurasi UConn PG / SG Junior [72] 2003–04 Alana Beard Duke SG / SF Senior [73] 2004–05 Seimone Augustus LSU SG / SF Junior [74] 2005–06 Seimone Augustus (2) LSU SG / SF Senior [75] 2006–07 Courtney Paris Oklahoma C Sophomore [76] 2007–08 Candace Parker Tennessee PF Senior [77] 2008–09 Maya Moore UConn PF Sophomore [78] 2009–10 Tina Charles UConn C Senior [79] 2010–11 Maya Moore (2) UConn PF Senior [80] 2011–12 Brittney Griner Baylor C Junior [81] 2012–13 Brittney Griner (2) Baylor C Senior [82] 2013–14 Breanna Stewart UConn PF Sophomore [2] 2014–15 Breanna Stewart (2) UConn PF Junior [2] 2015–16 Breanna Stewart (3) UConn PF Senior [2] 2016–17 Kelsey Plum Washington PG Senior [83] 2017–18 A'ja Wilson South Carolina C Senior [84] 2018–19 Megan Gustafson Iowa C Senior [85] 2019–20 Sabrina Ionescu Oregon PG Senior [86] 2020–21 Paige Bueckers UConn PG Freshman [87] 2021–22 Aliyah Boston South Carolina PF / C Junior [88] 2022–23 Caitlin Clark Iowa PG Junior [89] 2023–24 Caitlin Clark (2) Iowa PG Senior [90] 2024–25 JuJu Watkins USC SG Sophomore [91]

• ^a Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.^[92]

See also

• AP College Basketball Coach of the Year
• List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards