# Sun Belt Conference football individual awards

This is a list of Sun Belt Conference players and coaches who have been recognized for their work on the field at the end of each football season.

## Player of the Year

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 2001 | Wes Counts | QB | Middle Tennessee |
| 2002 | Brandon Kennedy | DT | North Texas |
| 2003 | Brandon Kennedy (2) | DT | North Texas |
| 2004 | Jamario Thomas | RB | North Texas |
| 2005 | Steven Jyles | QB | UL Monroe |
| 2006 | Omar Haugabook | QB | Troy |
| 2007 | Rusty Smith | QB | Florida Atlantic |
| 2008 | Tyrell Fenroy | RB | UL Lafayette |
| 2009 | Levi Brown | QB | Troy |
| 2010 | T. Y. Hilton | WR | FIU |
| 2011 | Ryan Aplin | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2012 | Ryan Aplin (2) | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2013 | Antonio Andrews | RB | Western Kentucky |
| 2014 | Elijah McGuire | RB | UL Lafayette |
| 2015 | Nick Arbuckle | QB | Georgia State |
| 2016 | Ja'Von Rolland-Jones | DE | Arkansas State |
| 2017 | Ja'Von Rolland-Jones (2) | DE | Arkansas State |
| 2018 | Justice Hansen | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2019 | Omar Bayless | WR | Arkansas State |
| 2020 | Grayson McCall | QB | Coastal Carolina |
| 2021 | Grayson McCall (2) | QB | Coastal Carolina |
| 2022 | Grayson McCall (3) | QB | Coastal Carolina |
| 2023 | Jordan McCloud | QB | James Madison |
| 2024 | Mike Green | DE | Marshall |
Source:

## Offensive Player of the Year

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 2001 | Dwone Hicks | RB | Middle Tennessee |
| 2002 | Danny Smith | RB | Arkansas State |
| 2003 | Patrick Cobbs | RB | North Texas |
| 2004 | Jamario Thomas | RB | North Texas |
| 2005 | Steven Jyles | QB | UL Monroe |
| 2006 | Omar Haugabook | QB | Troy |
| 2007 | Omar Haugabook (2) | QB | Troy |
| 2008 | Michael Desormeaux | QB | UL Lafayette |
| 2009 | Levi Brown | QB | Troy |
| 2010 | Bobby Rainey | RB | Western Kentucky |
| 2011 | Bobby Rainey (2) | RB | Western Kentucky |
| 2012 | Kolton Browning | QB | UL Monroe |
| 2013 | Antonio Andrews | RB | Western Kentucky |
| 2014 | Elijah McGuire | RB | UL Lafayette |
| 2015 | Larry Rose III | RB | New Mexico State |
| 2016 | Jalin Moore | RB | Appalachian State |
| 2017 | Justice Hansen | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2018 | Zac Thomas | QB | Appalachian State |
| 2019 | Darrynton Evans | RB | Appalachian State |
| 2020 | Jonathan Adams | WR | Arkansas State |
| 2021 | Jalen Tolbert | WR | South Alabama |
| 2022 | Todd Centeio | QB | James Madison |
| 2023 | Kimani Vidal | RB | Troy |
| 2024 | Ben Wooldridge | QB | Louisiana |
Source:

## Defensive Player of the Year

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 2001 | Brad Kassell | LB | North Texas |
| 2002 | Brandon Kennedy | DT | North Texas |
| 2003 | Chris Hurd | LB | North Texas |
| 2004 | DeMarcus Ware | DE | Troy State |
| 2005 | Jeff Littlejohn | DT | Middle Tennessee |
| 2006 | Keyonvis Bouie | LB | FIU |
| 2007 | Tyrell Johnson | S | Arkansas State |
| 2008 | Alex Carrington | DE | Arkansas State |
| 2009 | Cardia Jackson | LB | UL Monroe |
| 2009 | Chris McCoy | DE | Middle Tennessee |
| 2010 | Jamari Lattimore | DE | Middle Tennessee |
| 2011 | Brandon Joiner | DE | Arkansas State |
| 2012 | Quanterus Smith | DE | Western Kentucky |
| 2013 | Xavius Boyd | LB | Western Kentucky |
| 2014 | David Mayo | LB | Texas State |
| 2015 | Ronald Blair | DE | Appalachian State |
| 2016 | Rashad Dillard | DE | Troy |
| 2017 | Jeremy Reaves | S | South Alabama |
| 2018 | Ronheen Bingham | DE | Arkansas State |
| 2019 | Akeem Davis-Gaither | LB | Appalachian State |
| 2020 | Tarron Jackson | DE | Coastal Carolina |
| 2021 | D'Marco Jackson | LB | Appalachian State |
| 2022 | Carlton Martial | LB | Troy |
| 2023 | Jalen Green | DE | James Madison |
| 2024 | Marques Watson-Trent | LB | Georgia Southern |
Source:

## Coach of the Year

| Season | Coach | Team |
| 2001 | Darrell Dickey | North Texas |
| 2002 | Darrell Dickey (2) | North Texas |
| 2003 | Darrell Dickey (3) | North Texas |
| 2004 | Darrell Dickey (4) | North Texas |
| 2005 | Steve Roberts | Arkansas State |
| 2006 | Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee |
| 2007 | Howard Schnellenberger | Florida Atlantic |
| 2008 | Larry Blakeney | Troy |
| 2009 | Larry Blakeney (2) | Troy |
| 2009 | Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee |
| 2010 | Mario Cristobal | FIU |
| 2011 | Hugh Freeze | Arkansas State |
| 2012 | Todd Berry | UL Monroe |
| 2013 | Joey Jones | South Alabama |
| 2014 | Willie Fritz | Georgia Southern |
| 2015 | Trent Miles | Georgia State |
| 2016 | Paul Petrino | Idaho |
| 2017 | Neal Brown | Troy |
| 2018 | Scott Satterfield | Appalachian State |
| 2019 | Billy Napier | Louisiana |
| 2020 | Jamey Chadwell | Coastal Carolina |
| 2021 | Billy Napier (2) | Louisiana |
| 2022 | Jon Sumrall | Troy |
| 2023 | Curt Cignetti | James Madison |
| 2024 | Michael Desormeaux | Louisiana |
Source:

## Freshman of the Year

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 2001 | Ja'Mal Branch | WR | North Texas |
| 2002 | Paul Dombrowski | QB | New Mexico State |
| 2003 | Kevin Payne | RB | UL Monroe |
| 2004 | Jamario Thomas | RB | North Texas |
| 2005 | Tyrell Fenroy | RB | UL Lafayette |
| 2006 | Reggie Arnold | RB | Arkansas State |
| 2007 | Giovanni Vizza | QB | North Texas |
| 2008 | T. Y. Hilton | WR | FIU |
| 2009 | Shawn Southward | RB | Troy |
| 2010 | Corey Robinson | QB | Troy |
| 2011 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2012 | J. D. McKissic | WR | Arkansas State |
| 2013 | Elijah McGuire | RB | Louisiana |
| 2014 | Taylor Lamb | QB | Appalachian State |
| 2015 | Penny Hart | WR | Georgia State |
| 2016 | Clifton Duck | CB | Appalachian State |
| 2017 | Marcus Jones | CB | Troy |
| 2018 | Marcel Murray | RB | Arkansas State |
| 2019 | Layne Hatcher | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2020 | Grayson McCall | QB | Coastal Carolina |
| 2021 | Montrel Johnson Jr. | RB | Louisiana |
| 2022 | Jared Brown | WR | Coastal Carolina |
| 2023 | Jaylen Raynor | QB | Arkansas State |
| 2024 | Ahmad Hardy | RB | UL Monroe |

## Newcomer of the Year

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 2001 | Kevin Galbreath | RB | North Texas |
| 2002 | Jonathan Burke | CB | Arkansas State |
| 2003 | Aubrey Dorisme | DE | New Mexico State |
| 2004 | Dylan Lineberry | G | North Texas |
| 2005 | Aaron Weathers | S | North Texas |
| 2006 | Omar Haugabook | QB | Troy |
| 2007 | Chris Bradwell | DT | Troy |
| 2008 | Levi Brown | QB | Troy |
| 2009 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2010 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2011 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2012 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2013 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2014 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2015 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2016 | Aikeem Coleman | DE | Idaho |
| 2017 | Ron LaForce | S | New Mexico State |
| 2018 | Kirk Merritt | WR | Arkansas State |
| 2019 | Kaylon Geiger | WR | Troy |
| 2020 | D'Jordan Strong | CB | Coastal Carolina |
| 2021 | Chase Brice | QB | Appalachian State |
| 2022 | Todd Centeio | QB | James Madison |
| 2023 | Joey Aguilar | QB | Appalachian State |
| 2024 | Braylon Braxton | QB | Marshall |