The Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...

's (WAC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1980–81 season. Keith Van Horn of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and Nick Fazekas of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

are the only players to have won the award three times. Three other players— Michael Cage, Josh Grant and

Melvin Ely Melvin Anderson Ely (; born May 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who used to be an assistant coach for the Canton Charge of the NBA G League. A 6'10", , power forward–center from Fresno State, Ely was drafted ...

—have won the award twice.

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

, the first ever WAC Player of the Year, was also the John R. Wooden Award winner in 1980–81.

has the most all-time winners with seven. There have been four ties in the award's history, most notably in 1982–83 when there was a three-way tie. Due mainly to major membership turnover from 2010 to 2014, only three current WAC members— California Baptist, New Mexico State, and

Utah Valley Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

—have had a winner.

Key

Winners

Winners by school

Footnotes

References

{{Men's college basketball award navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball conference players of the year

Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

Awards established in 1981