# Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award

The Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award was created to honor the most valuable player of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men's basketball national tournaments. Established in 1939 and later named as an homage to the Chuck Taylor All-Stars, an iconic basketball shoe in the early 20th century, it has been awarded every year with the exceptions of 1944 due to World War II and 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between the 1991–92 and 2019–20 seasons, the NAIA was split into Division I and Division II. Each division subsequently held their own national tournament, with MVPs awarded for them respectively. Starting with the 2020–21 season, the NAIA returned to non-divisional classifications.

## Chuck Taylor MVPs
### Non-divisional era (1939–1991, 2021–present)

| Year | Most Valuable Player | Team | Reference |
| 1939 | Edgar Hinshaw | Southwestern (KS) | |
| 1940 | Mel Waits | Tarkio (MO) | |
| 1941 | Charles Thomas | Northwestern State (LA) | |
| 1942 | Gus Doerner | Evansville (IN) | |
| 1943 | Belus Smawley | Appalachian State (NC) | |
| 1944 | Tournament canceled due to World War II | Tournament canceled due to World War II | Tournament canceled due to World War II |
| 1945 | Fred Lewis | Eastern Kentucky | |
| 1946 | Gene Stotlar | Southern Illinois | |
| 1947 | Irvin Leifer | Eastern Washington | |
| 1948 | Duane Klueh | Indiana State | |
| 1949 | Hal Haskins | Hamline (MN) | |
| 1950 | Lenny Rzeszewski | Indiana State | |
| 1951 | Scotty Steagall | Millikin (IL) | |
| 1952 | Bennie Purcell | Murray State (KY) | |
| 1953 | Jerry Anderson | Missouri State | |
| 1954 | Jerry Anderson (2) | Missouri State | |
| 1955 | Jim Miller | Texas A&M–Commerce | |
| 1956 | Bill Reigel | McNeese (LA) | |
| 1957 | Jim Spivey | Southeastern Oklahoma State | |
| 1958 | Dick Barnett | Tennessee State | |
| 1959 | Dick Barnett (2) | Tennessee State | |
| 1960 | Charles Sharp | Texas State | |
| 1961 | Charles Hardnett | Grambling State (LA) | |
| 1962 | Zelmo Beaty | Prairie View A&M (TX) | |
| 1963 | Lucious Jackson | UT Rio Grande Valley (TX) | |
| 1964 | Lucious Jackson (2) | UT Rio Grande Valley (TX) | |
| 1965 | Ken Wilburn | Central State (OH) | |
| 1966 | Al Tucker | Oklahoma Baptist | |
| 1967 | Al Tucker (2) | Oklahoma Baptist | |
| 1968 | John Jamerson | Fairmont State (WV) | |
| 1969 | Jake Ford | Maryland Eastern Shore | |
| 1970 | Greg Hyder | Eastern New Mexico | |
| 1971 | Travis Grant | Kentucky State | |
| 1972 | Travis Grant (2) | Kentucky State | |
| 1973 | Lloyd Free | Guilford (NC) | |
| 1974 | Foots Walker | West Georgia | |
| 1975 | Bayard Forrest | Grand Canyon (AZ) | |
| 1976 | Joe Pace | Coppin State (MD) | |
| 1977 | Alonzo Bradley | Texas Southern | |
| 1978 | Tom Ritzdorf | Nebraska–Kearney | |
| 1979 | Lawrence Washington | Drury (MO) | |
| 1980 | LeRoy Jackson | Cameron (OK) | |
| 1981 | George Torres | Southern Nazarene (OK) | |
| 1982 | Mike Gibson | USC Upstate (SC) | |
| 1983 | Stephen Yetman | Charleston (SC) | |
| 1984 | Terry Porter | Wisconsin–Stevens Point | |
| 1985 | Edgar Eason | Fort Hays State (KS) | |
| 1986 | John Kimbrell | Lipscomb (TN) | |
| 1987 | Tom Meier | Washburn (KS) | |
| 1988 | Rodney Johns | Grand Canyon (AZ) | |
| 1989 | Vernell Kemp | East Central (OK) | |
| 1990 | Stacy Butler | Birmingham–Southern (AL) | |
| 1991 | Eric Manuel | Oklahoma City | |
| 1992– 2020 | Split into NAIA Divisions I and II | Split into NAIA Divisions I and II | Split into NAIA Divisions I and II |
| 2021 | James Jones | Shawnee State (OH) | |
| 2022 | Myles Burns | Loyola (LA) | |
| 2023 | Charles Elzie | College of Idaho | |
| 2024 | Hunter Scurlock | Freed–Hardeman (TN) | |

### Divisional era (1992–2020)

NAIA Division I :
| Year | Most Valuable Player | Team | Reference |
| 1992 | Smokey McCovery | Oklahoma City | |
| 1993 | Lemar Young | Hawaii Pacific | |
| 1994 | Kevin Franklin | Oklahoma City | |
| 1995 | James Cason | Birmingham–Southern (AL) | |
| 1996 | Reggie Garrett | Oklahoma City | |
| 1997 | James Harris | Life (GA) | |
| 1998 | Will Carlton | Georgetown (KY) | |
| 1999 | Corey Evans | Life (GA) | |
| 2000 | Jimmie Hunter | Life (GA) | |
| 2001 | Paul Little | Faulkner (AL) | |
| 2002 | Michael Williamson | USAO (OK) | |
| 2003 | Raynardo Curry | Mountain State (WV) | |
| 2004 | Zach Moss | Mountain State (WV) | |
| 2005 | Brandon Cole | John Brown (AR) | |
| 2006 | Evan Patterson | Texas Wesleyan | |
| 2007 | Kameron Gray | Oklahoma City | |
| 2008 | Kameron Gray (2) | Oklahoma City | |
| 2009 | Devin Uskoski | Rocky Mountain (MT) | |
| 2010 | Nate Brumfield | Oklahoma Baptist | |
| 2011 | Trevor Setty | Pikeville (KY) | |
| 2012 | Cameron Gliddon | Concordia (CA) | |
| 2013 | Monty Wilson | Georgetown (KY) | |
| 2014 | Preston Wynne | Vanguard (CA) | |
| 2015 | Jordan Bowling | Dalton State (GA) | |
| 2016 | Devonse Reed | Mid-America Christian (OK) | |
| 2017 | Dion Rogers | Texas Wesleyan | |
| 2018 | LT Davis | Graceland (MO) | |
| 2019 | Chris Coffey | Georgetown (KY) | |
| 2020 | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic |
NAIA Division II :
| Year | Most Valuable Player | Team | Reference |
| 1992 | David James | Grace (IN) | |
| 1993 | Mike Ward | Willamette (OR) | |
| 1994 | Chris Peterson | Eureka (IL) | |
| 1995 | Mark Galloway | Bethel (IN) | |
| 1996 | Damon Archibald | College of Idaho | |
| 1997 | Rico Swanson | Bethel (IN) | |
| 1998 | Rico Swanson (2) | Bethel (IN) | |
| 1999 | Mike Long | Cornerstone (MI) | |
| 2000 | Jason Cruse | Embry–Riddle (FL) | |
| 2001 | Brandon Woudstra | Northwestern (IA) | |
| 2002 | Daniel Cutbirth | Evangel (MO) | |
| 2003 | Brandon Woudstra (2) | Northwestern (IA) | |
| 2004 | Kevin Baker | Oregon Tech | |
| 2005 | Robert Whaley | Walsh (OH) | |
| 2006 | Michael Bonaparte | College of the Ozarks (MO) | |
| 2007 | Adam Hepker | MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) | |
| 2008 | Ryan Fiegi | Oregon Tech | |
| 2009 | Steve Briggs | Oklahoma Wesleyan | |
| 2010 | DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis | Saint Francis (IN) | |
| 2011 | Caleb Simons | Cornerstone (MI) | |
| 2012 | Bobby Hunter | Oregon Tech | |
| 2013 | Darren Moore | Cardinal Stritch (WI) | |
| 2014 | Jordan Weidner | Indiana Wesleyan | |
| 2015 | Kyle Steigenga | Cornerstone (MI) | |
| 2016 | Jonny Marlin | Indiana Wesleyan | |
| 2017 | Paul Stone | Union (KY) | |
| 2018 | Kyle Mangas | Indiana Wesleyan | |
| 2019 | Paul Marandet | Spring Arbor (MI) | |
| 2020 | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic |