The Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Big 12 Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1996–97 season, the first year of conference competition but three years after the conference's official formation. It is selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Kansas has had the most individual winners of the award with 12.
Only two players have won the award multiple times: Raef LaFrentz of Kansas, who won the first two awards in 1997 and 1998, and Buddy Hield of Oklahoma, who won the award in 2015 and 2016.
Four freshmen have won the award: Kevin Durant of Texas, Michael Beasley of Kansas State, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State, and Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
Nine current Big 12 institutions have yet to have a winner. Baylor is the only continuously present charter member without a winner. Another charter member, Colorado, left for the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 but returned in 2024. Two others joined in the 2010s: TCU in 2011 and West Virginia in 2012. The other five made their Big 12 debuts in the 2020s: BYU, Cincinnati, and UCF in 2023–24, with Arizona State and Utah in 2024–25.
In addition, two former Big 12 institutions never had a winner of the award during their tenure in the Big 12: Missouri and Texas A&M.
Key † Co-Players of the Year* Awarded a national player of the year award that same season:Oscar Robertson Trophy (1958–59 to present)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 has been awarded the Big 12 Player of the Year award at that point
Winners
Season Player School Position Class Reference 1996–97 Kansas PF 1997–98 (2) Kansas PF 1998–99 Nebraska C 1999–00 Iowa State PF 2000–01 Iowa State PG 2001–02 Kansas PF 2002–03 Kansas PF 2003–04 Oklahoma State SG 2004–05 Kansas PF 2005–06 Texas SF 2006–07 * Texas SF 2007–08 Kansas State PF 2008–09 * Oklahoma PF 2009–10 Oklahoma State SG 2010–11 Kansas PF 2011–12 Kansas PF 2012–13 Oklahoma State PG 2013–14 Iowa State SF 2014–15 Oklahoma SG 2015–16 * (2) Oklahoma SG 2016–17 * Kansas PG 2017–18 Kansas PG 2018–19 Texas Tech SG 2019–20 Kansas C 2020–21 Oklahoma State G 2021–22 Kansas SG 2022–23 Kansas F 2023–24 Houston PG 2024–25 Texas Tech PF 2025–26 Arizona PG
Winners by school School (year joined) Winners Years Kansas (1996) 121997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 Oklahoma State (1996) 42004, 2010, 2013, 2021 Iowa State (1996) 32000, 2001, 2014 Oklahoma (1996) 32009, 2015, 2016 Texas (1996) 22006, 2007 Texas Tech (1996) 22019, 2025 Arizona (2024) 12026 Houston (2023) 12024 Kansas State (1996) 12008 Nebraska (1996) 11999 Arizona State (2024) 0 — Baylor (1996) 0 — BYU (2023) 0 — Cincinnati (2023) 0 — Colorado (1996) 0 — Missouri (1996) 0 — TCU (2012) 0 — Texas A&M (1996) 0 — UCF (2023) 0 — Utah (2024) 0 — West Virginia (2012) 0 —
See also Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year – the predecessor to the Big 12 Conference and its players of the year (although the Big 12 does not recognize Big Eight Players of the Year as their own) List of All-Big 12 Conference men's basketball teams
References