Country United States Currently held by Keon Johnson, Winthrop | First awarded 1986 | |
Awarded for The most outstanding basketball player in the Big South Conference. | ||
The Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Big South Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1985–86 season, the first year the league competed in basketball competition.
The most notable recipient of the Big South Player of the Year Award is Tony Dunkin. Dunkin, a 6'7" (2.01 m) small forward, played for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers from 1989 to 1993 and won the award all four seasons. He is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player to ever earn four conference player of the year awards.
Coastal Carolina, which left the Big South for the Sun Belt Conference after the 2015–16 season, has the most all-time awards with nine and individual winners with five. Among current members, High Point has the most awards with five and individual winners with four. The only current Big South members without any winners are three of the four newest members of the conference—Presbyterian (joining in 2007), Gardner–Webb (2008), and Longwood (2012). Although Campbell's current tenure in the Big South dates only to 2011, it has three winners from its first conference tenure (1983–1994).