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
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...
(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
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, 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 10 awards. Three current members have yet to have a winner, but two are
Oregon State and
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
, which temporarily joined the WCC as multi-sport associate members, including basketball, following the
2024 collapse of their home of the
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
. Both will leave when the Pac-12 resumes play in 2026–27 with several new members. The only established member without a winner is
Portland.
Key
Winners
Winners by school
References
{{Men's college basketball award navbox
NCAA Division I men's basketball conference players of the year
Player of the Year
Awards established in 1953