| Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Big West Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1970 |
The Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Big West Conference's most outstanding player. The conference was formed in 1969 and was 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 six 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.
As of 2011, UNLV and Long Beach State have the most all-time winners with 10 despite UNLV only being in the conference for 14 seasons. There have been three ties in the award's history, most recently in 2007–08. Among present BWC members, four schools have had no winners: Cal State Northridge, UC Davis, UC Riverside and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Key[]
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners[]
Brian Shaw won in 1987–88 while at UC Santa Barbara.
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–70 | George Trapp | Long Beach State | Forward / Center | Junior |
| 1970–71 | George Trapp (2) | Long Beach State | Forward / Center | Senior |
| 1971–72 | Ed Ratleff | Long Beach State | Shooting guard / Small forward | Junior |
| 1972–73 | Ed Ratleff (2) | Long Beach State | Shooting guard / Small forward | Senior |
| 1973–74 | Leonard Gray | Long Beach State | Forward | Senior |
| 1974–75 | Bob Gross | Long Beach State | Small forward | Senior |
| 1975–76† | Steve Copp | San Diego State | Small forward | Senior |
| 1975–76† | Greg Bunch | Cal State Fullerton | Forward | Sophomore |
| 1976–77 | Lloyd McMillian | Long Beach State | Small forward | Senior |
| 1977–78 | Joel Kramer | San Diego State | Small forward | Senior |
| 1978–79 | Ron Cornelius | Pacific | Sophomore | |
| 1979–80 | Dean Hunger | Utah State | Forward | Senior |
| 1980–81 | Kevin Magee | UC Irvine | Power forward | Junior |
| 1981–82 | Kevin Magee (2) | UC Irvine | Power forward | Senior |
| 1982–83 | Sidney Green | UNLV | Center / Power forward | Senior |
| 1983–84 | Richie Adams | UNLV | Small forward | Junior |
| 1984–85 | Richie Adams (2) | UNLV | Small forward | Senior |
| 1985–86† | Greg Grant | Utah State | Forward | Senior |
| 1985–86† | Anthony Jones | UNLV | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1986–87 | Armen Gilliam | UNLV | Power forward | Senior |
| 1987–88 | Brian Shaw | UC Santa Barbara | Point guard | Senior |
| 1988–89 | Stacey Augmon | UNLV | Shooting guard / Small forward | Sophomore |
| 1989–90 | Larry Johnson | UNLV | Power forward | Junior |
| 1990–91 | Larry Johnson* (2) | UNLV | Power forward | Senior |
| 1991–92 | Lucius Davis | UC Santa Barbara | Senior | |
| 1992–93 | J. R. Rider | UNLV | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1993–94 | Kebu Stewart | UNLV | Forward | Freshman |
| 1994–95 | Eric Franson | Utah State | Center | Junior |
| 1995–96 | Raimonds Miglinieks | UC Irvine | Point guard | Senior |
| 1996–97 | Faron Hand | Nevada | Small forward | Junior |
| 1997–98 | Michael Olowokandi | Pacific | Center | Senior |
| 1998–99 | Roberto Bergersen | Boise State | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1999–00 | Mate Milisa | Long Beach State | Center | Junior |
| 2000–01 | Jerry Green | UC Irvine | Shooting guard / Point guard | Junior |
| 2001–02 | Jerry Green (2) | UC Irvine | Shooting guard / Point guard | Senior |
| 2002–03 | Branduinn Fullove | UC Santa Barbara | Guard | Junior |
| 2003–04 | Miah Davis | Pacific | Point guard | Senior |
| 2004–05 | David Doubley | Pacific | Point guard | Senior |
| 2005–06 | Christian Maråker | Pacific | Power forward | Senior |
| 2006–07 | Aaron Nixon | Long Beach State | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 2007–08† | Scott Cutley | Cal State Fullerton | Power forward | Senior |
| 2007–08† | Alex Harris | UC Santa Barbara | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 2008–09 | Josh Akognon | Cal State Fullerton | Point guard | Senior |
| 2009–10 | Orlando Johnson | UC Santa Barbara | Forward | Sophomore |
| 2010–11 | Casper Ware | Long Beach State | Point guard | Junior |
Winners by school[]
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Long Beach State (1969) | 10 | 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 2000, 2007, 2011 |
| UNLV (1982)[a] | 10 | 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986†, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 |
| Pacific (1971) | 5 | 1979, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| UC Irvine (1977) | 5 | 1981, 1982, 1996, 2001, 2002 |
| UC Santa Barbara (1969)[b] | 5 | 1988, 1992, 2003, 2008†, 2010 |
| Cal State Fullerton (1974) | 3 | 1976, 2008†, 2009† |
| Utah State (1978)[c] | 3 | 1980, 1986†, 1995 |
| San Diego State (1969)[d] | 2 | 1976†, 1978 |
| Boise State (1996)[e] | 1 | 1999 |
| Nevada (1992)[f] | 1 | 1997 |
| Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (1996) | 0 | — |
| Cal State Northridge (2001) | 0 | — |
| UC Davis (2007) | 0 | — |
| UC Riverside (2001) | 0 | — |
Footnotes[]
- a UNLV left in 1996 and is currently in the Mountain West Conference.
- b UC Santa Barbara joined the conference when it was founded in 1969, left to become an independent after the 1973–74 season, then rejoined in 1976.
- c Utah State left in 1995 and is currently in the Western Athletic Conference.
- d San Diego State left in 2005 and is currently in the Western Athletic Conference.
- e Boise State left in 2001 and is currently in the Western Athletic Conference.
- f Nevada left in 2000 and is currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference.