| WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Western Athletic Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1981 |
| Currently held by | Tai Wesley, Utah State |
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Western Athletic Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1980–81 season. Keith Van Horn of Utah and Nick Fazekas of Nevada are the only players to have won the award three times. Three other players—Michael Cage, Josh Grant and Melvin Ely—have won the award twice. Danny Ainge, the first ever WAC Player of the Year, was also the John R. Wooden Award winner in 1980–81.
As of 2011, Utah has the most all-time winners with seven. There have been four ties in the award's history, most notably in 1982–83 when there was a three-way tie for Player of the Year. Among present WAC members, five schools have had no winners: Boise State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and San Jose State.
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[]
Anthony Carter was Co-Player of the Year while at Hawaii.
Quinton Ross won in 2003.
Keith Van Horn is one of only two 3-time winners of the award.
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | Danny Ainge* | BYU | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1981–82 | Bill Garnett | Wyoming | Small forward | Senior |
| 1982–83† | Michael Cage | San Diego State | Center | Junior |
| 1982–83† | Devin Durrant | BYU | Small forward | Junior |
| 1982–83† | Pace Mannion | Utah | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1983–84 | Michael Cage (2) | San Diego State | Center | Senior |
| 1984–85 | Timo Saarelainen | BYU | Power forward | Senior |
| 1985–86 | Anthony Watson | San Diego State | Forward | Senior |
| 1986–87 | Fennis Dembo | Wyoming | Small forward | Senior |
| 1987–88 | Mike Smith | BYU | Shooting guard | Junior |
| 1988–89 | Tim Hardaway | UTEP | Point guard | Senior |
| 1989–90 | Mike Mitchell | Colorado State | Forward | Senior |
| 1990–91 | Josh Grant | Utah | Power forward | Junior |
| 1991–92 | Reggie Slater | Wyoming | Forward | Senior |
| 1992–93 | Josh Grant (2) | Utah | Power forward | Senior |
| 1993–94 | Greg Brown | New Mexico | Point guard | Senior |
| 1994–95 | Keith Van Horn | Utah | Shooting guard / Small forward | Sophomore |
| 1995–96 | Keith Van Horn (2) | Utah | Shooting guard / Small forward | Junior |
| 1996–97† | Anthony Carter | Hawaii | Point guard | Junior |
| 1996–97† | Keith Van Horn (3) | Utah | Shooting guard / Small forward | Senior |
| 1997–98† | Lee Nailon | Texas Christian | Power forward | Junior |
| 1997–98† | Clayton Shields | New Mexico | Shooting guard / Small forward | Senior |
| 1998–99† | Andre Miller | Utah | Point guard | Senior |
| 1998–99† | Jeryl Sasser | Southern Methodist | Shooting guard | Sophomore |
| 1999–00 | Courtney Alexander | Fresno State | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 2000–01 | Melvin Ely | Fresno State | Center | Junior |
| 2001–02 | Melvin Ely (2) | Fresno State | Center | Senior |
| 2002–03 | Quinton Ross | Southern Methodist | Power forward | Senior |
| 2003–04 | Kirk Snyder | Nevada | Shooting guard / Small forward | Junior |
| 2004–05 | Nick Fazekas | Nevada | Power forward / Center | Sophomore |
| 2005–06 | Nick Fazekas (2) | Nevada | Power forward / Center | Junior |
| 2006–07 | Nick Fazekas (3) | Nevada | Power forward / Center | Senior |
| 2007–08 | Jaycee Carroll | Utah State | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 2008–09 | Gary Wilkinson | Utah State | Forward | Senior |
| 2009–10 | Luke Babbitt | Nevada | Power forward | Sophomore |
| 2010–11 | Tai Wesley | Utah State | Power forward | Senior |
Winners by school[]
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Utah (1962)[a] | 7 | 1983†, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997†, 1999† |
| Nevada (2000) | 5 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 |
| BYU (1962)[a] | 4 | 1981, 1983†, 1985, 1988 |
| Fresno State (1992) | 3 | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| San Diego State (1978)[a] | 3 | 1983†, 1984, 1986 |
| Utah State (2005) | 3 | 2008, 2009, 2011 |
| Wyoming (1962)[a] | 3 | 1982, 1987, 1992 |
| New Mexico (1962)[a] | 2 | 1994, 1998† |
| Southern Methodist (1996)[b] | 2 | 1999†, 2003 |
| Colorado State (1967)[a] | 1 | 1990 |
| Hawaii (1979) | 1 | 1997 |
| Texas Christian (1996)[c] | 1 | 1998† |
| UTEP (1967)[b] | 1 | 1989 |
| Boise State (2001) | 0 | — |
| Idaho (2005) | 0 | — |
| Louisiana Tech (2001) | 0 | — |
| New Mexico State (2005) | 0 | — |
| San Jose State (1996) | 0 | — |
Footnotes[]
- a BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming all left in 1999.
- b Southern Methodist (SMU) and UTEP both left in 2005.
- c Texas Christian (TCU) left in 2001.