The Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Big West Conference's most outstanding player. The conference was formed in 1969 and known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association until 1988. The award was first given following the 1969–70 season. No player has won the award three times, but there have been eight two-time players of the year. Larry Johnson of UNLV was also the national player of the year in 1990–91, the same season of his second consecutive Big West Player of the Year accolade.
Long Beach State has had the most all-time winners with 13. There have been three ties in the award's history, most recently in 2007–08. Among present Big West members, six schools have had no winners. Two have been members for most or all of the 21st century: Cal Poly since 1996 and UC Riverside since 2001. A third such program, Cal State Bakersfield, joined in 2020. The other three will play their first Big West seasons in 2026–27 — California Baptist, Sacramento State, and Utah Valley.
Key † Co-Players of the Year* Awarded a national player of the year award that same season:Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79)UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96)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 West Player of the Year award at that point
Winners
Season Player School Position Class Reference 1969–70 Long Beach State F / C 1970–71 (2) Long Beach State F / C 1971–72 Long Beach State SG / SF 1972–73 (2) Long Beach State SG / SF 1973–74 Long Beach State F 1974–75 Long Beach State SF 1975–76† San Diego State SF Cal State Fullerton F 1976–77 Long Beach State SF 1977–78 San Diego State SF 1978–79 Pacific PF / C 1979–80 Utah State F 1980–81 UC Irvine PF 1981–82 (2) UC Irvine PF 1982–83 UNLV C / PF 1983–84 UNLV C 1984–85 (2) UNLV C 1985–86† Utah State F UNLV SG 1986–87 UNLV PF 1987–88 UC Santa Barbara PG 1988–89 UNLV SG / SF 1989–90 UNLV PF 1990–91 * (2) UNLV PF 1991–92 UC Santa Barbara F 1992–93 UNLV SG 1993–94 UNLV F 1994–95 Utah State C 1995–96 UC Irvine PG 1996–97 Nevada SF 1997–98 Pacific C 1998–99 Boise State SG 1999–00 Long Beach State C 2000–01 UC Irvine PG 2001–02 (2) UC Irvine PG 2002–03 UC Santa Barbara G 2003–04 Pacific PG 2004–05 Pacific PG 2005–06 Pacific PF 2006–07 Long Beach State SG 2007–08† Cal State Fullerton PF UC Santa Barbara SG 2008–09 Cal State Fullerton PG 2009–10 UC Santa Barbara SG 2010–11 Long Beach State PG 2011–12 (2) Long Beach State PG 2012–13 Long Beach State SF 2013–14 UC Santa Barbara C 2014–15 UC Davis G 2015–16 Hawaii F 2016–17 UC Irvine SG 2017–18 UC Davis PG 2018–19 Cal State Northridge PF 2019–20 (2) Cal State Northridge PF 2020–21 UC Santa Barbara PG 2021–22 Long Beach State SG 2022–23 UC Santa Barbara PG / SG 2023–24 UC Davis PG 2024–25 UC San Diego SF / SG 2025–26 Cal State Northridge PG
Winners by school School (year joined) Winners Years Long Beach State (1969) 13 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022 UNLV (1982) 10 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986†, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 UC Santa Barbara (1969) 8 1988, 1992, 2003, 2008†, 2010, 2014, 2021, 2023 UC Irvine (1977) 6 1981, 1982, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2017 Pacific (1971) 5 1979, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006 Cal State Fullerton (1974) 3 1976, 2008†, 2009† Cal State Northridge (2001) 3 2019, 2020, 2026 UC Davis (2007) 3 2015, 2018, 2024 Utah State (1978) 3 1980, 1986†, 1995 San Diego State (1969) 2 1976†, 1978 Boise State (1996) 1 1999 Hawaiʻi (2012) 1 2016 Nevada (1992) 1 1997 UC San Diego (2020) 1 2025 Cal Baptist (2026) 0 — Cal Poly (1996) 0 — Cal State Bakersfield (2020) 0 — Sacramento State (2026) 0 — UC Riverside (2001) 0 — Utah Valley (2026) 0 —
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