The American Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year is a basketball award given to the American Conference's one or more best men's basketball players in their first year of competitive play. The conference formed in 2013–14 after many schools departed from the original Big East Conference to form their own conference. The conference was called the American Athletic Conference from its inception up until July 21, 2025, at which time it was formally rebranded. Austin Nichols of Memphis was the first-ever winner. This award is voted for by the coaches and can only be awarded once to any player.
Key †Co-Players of the Year*Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present)or the John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present)
Winners SeasonPlayerSchoolPosition Class Ref. 2013–14 Memphis Forward 2014–15 UConn Swingman 2015–16 Memphis Forward 2016–17 Memphis Swingman 2017–18 East Carolina Guard 2018–19 South Florida Forward 2019–20 Memphis Forward 2020–21 Memphis Center 2021–22 Memphis Center 2022–23 Houston Forward 2023–24 Tulsa Guard
Winners by school School (year joined) Winners Years Memphis (2013) 6 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 East Carolina (2014) 1 2018 Houston (2013) 1 2023 South Florida (2013) 1 2019 Tulsa (2014) 1 2024 UConn (2013) 1 2015 Cincinnati (2013) 0 — Louisville (2013) 0 — Rutgers (2013) 0 — SMU (2013) 0 — Temple (2013) 0 — Tulane (2014) 0 — UCF (2013) 0 — Wichita State (2017) 0 —
References