The Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Summit League (which had been known as the Mid-Continent Conference up until June 1, 2007). The award was first given following the 1982–83 season. Two players, Caleb Green of Oral Roberts and Mike Daum of South Dakota State, have each won the award three times. Five other players have won the award twice: Jon Collins of Eastern Illinois, Tony Bennett of Green Bay, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Keith Benson of Oakland, and Max Abmas of Oral Roberts.
Oral Roberts and South Dakota State have the most winners with seven each. Oakland has had three winners, but left after the 2012–13 season to join the Horizon League. Of current conference members, North Dakota, St. Thomas, and South Dakota have had no winners. However, all are among the conference's newer members, with South Dakota having joined in 2011, North Dakota in 2018, and St. Thomas in 2021.
Key † Co-Players of the Year* Awarded a national player of the year award that same season: 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 Summit League Player of the Year award at that point
Winners
Season Player School Position Class Reference 1982–83 Western Illinois SF 1983–84 UIC PG 1984–85 Eastern Illinois SF 1985–86 (2) Eastern Illinois SF 1986–87 Missouri State PG 1987–88 Cleveland State G 1988–89 Eastern Illinois SG 1989–90 Missouri State F 1990–91 Green Bay PG 1991–92 (2) Green Bay PG 1992–93 Wright State SF 1993–94 UIC PG 1994–95 Valparaiso G 1995–96 Valparaiso SF 1996–97 Valparaiso PG 1997–98 (2) Valparaiso PG 1998–99 Oral Roberts SF / PF 1999–00 Kansas City C 2000–01 Southern Utah PG 2001–02 Valparaiso PF 2002–03 Oakland G 2003–04 IUPUI SF / SG 2004–05 Oral Roberts PF 2005–06 (2) Oral Roberts PF 2006–07 (3) Oral Roberts PF 2007–08 IUPUI PG / SG 2008–09 North Dakota State PG 2009–10 Oakland C 2010–11 (2) Oakland C 2011–12 Oral Roberts SF 2012–13 South Dakota State PG 2013–14 North Dakota State PG 2014–15 North Dakota State SG 2015–16 Purdue Fort Wayne SG 2016–17 South Dakota State PF 2017–18 (2) South Dakota State PF 2018–19 (3) South Dakota State PF 2019–20 South Dakota State SF 2020–21 Oral Roberts PG / SG 2021–22 South Dakota State SG 2022–23 (2) Oral Roberts PG / SG 2023–24 South Dakota State SG 2024–25 Omaha SF 2025–26 Denver SG
Winners by school In this table, the "year joined" refers to the calendar year in which each school joined the conference. The "Years" column reflects the calendar years in which each award was presented. School (year joined) Winners Years Oral Roberts (1997, 2014) 7 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2021, 2023 South Dakota State (2007) 7 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024 Valparaiso (1982) 5 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 Eastern Illinois (1982) 3 1985, 1986, 1989 North Dakota State (2007) 3 2009, 2014, 2015 Oakland (1998) 3 2003, 2010, 2011 Green Bay (1982) 2 1991, 1992 IUPUI (1998) 2 2004, 2008 Missouri State (1982) 2 1987, 1990 UIC (1982) 2 1984, 1994 Cleveland State (1982) 1 1988 Denver (2013) 1 2026 Kansas City (1994, 2020) 1 2000 Omaha (2012) 1 2025 Purdue Fort Wayne (2007) 1 2016 Southern Utah (1997) 1 2001 Western Illinois (1982) 1 1983 Wright State (1991) 1 1993 Centenary (2003) 0 — North Dakota (2018) 0 — St. Thomas (2021) 0 — South Dakota (2011) 0 —
References