# Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year

The Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1961 to recognize the best men's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP).
The only three-time winner is Ralph Sampson of the Virginia Cavaliers program. Lew Alcindor, Zach Edey, Jerry Lucas, David Thompson, and Bill Walton each won the award twice.

## Key

| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded at that point |
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
| 1960–61 | Jerry Lucas | Ohio State | F / C | Junior |
| 1961–62 | Jerry Lucas (2) | Ohio State | F / C | Senior |
| 1962–63 | Art Heyman | Duke | G / F | Senior |
| 1963–64 | Gary Bradds | Ohio State | F | Senior |
| 1964–65 | Bill Bradley | Princeton | SF / SG | Senior |
| 1965–66 | Cazzie Russell | Michigan | SG | Senior |
| 1966–67 | Lew Alcindor | UCLA | C | Sophomore |
| 1967–68 | Elvin Hayes | Houston | F / C | Senior |
| 1968–69 | Lew Alcindor (2) | UCLA | C | Senior |
| 1969–70 | Pete Maravich | LSU | G | Senior |
| 1970–71 | Austin Carr | Notre Dame | G | Senior |
| 1971–72 | Bill Walton | UCLA | C | Sophomore |
| 1972–73 | Bill Walton (2) | UCLA | C | Junior |
| 1973–74 | David Thompson | NC State | SG / SF | Junior |
| 1974–75 | David Thompson (2) | NC State | SG / SF | Senior |
| 1975–76 | Scott May | Indiana | F | Senior |
| 1976–77 | Marques Johnson | UCLA | G / F | Senior |
| 1977–78 | Butch Lee | Marquette | PG | Senior |
| 1978–79 | Larry Bird | Indiana State | SF | Senior |
| 1979–80 | Mark Aguirre | DePaul | SF | Sophomore |
| 1980–81 | Ralph Sampson | Virginia | C | Sophomore |
| 1981–82 | Ralph Sampson (2) | Virginia | C | Junior |
| 1982–83 | Ralph Sampson (3) | Virginia | C | Senior |
| 1983–84 | Michael Jordan | North Carolina | SG | Junior |
| 1984–85 | Patrick Ewing | Georgetown | C | Senior |
| 1985–86 | Walter Berry | St. John's | PF | Senior |
| 1986–87 | David Robinson | Navy | C | Senior |
| 1987–88 | Hersey Hawkins | Bradley | SG | Senior |
| 1988–89 | Sean Elliott | Arizona | SF | Senior |
| 1989–90 | Lionel Simmons | La Salle | SF | Senior |
| 1990–91 | Shaquille O'Neal | LSU | C | Sophomore |
| 1991–92 | Christian Laettner | Duke | F | Senior |
| 1992–93 | Calbert Cheaney | Indiana | SF | Senior |
| 1993–94 | Glenn Robinson | Purdue | SF / PF | Sophomore |
| 1994–95 | Joe Smith | Maryland | C | Sophomore |
| 1995–96 | Marcus Camby | UMass | C | Junior |
| 1996–97 | Tim Duncan | Wake Forest | C | Senior |
| 1997–98 | Antawn Jamison | North Carolina | SF | Junior |
| 1998–99 | Elton Brand | Duke | C | Sophomore |
| 1999–00 | Kenyon Martin | Cincinnati | PF | Senior |
| 2000–01 | Shane Battier | Duke | SF / SG | Senior |
| 2001–02 | Jason Williams | Duke | PG | Junior |
| 2002–03 | David West | Xavier | PF | Senior |
| 2003–04 | Jameer Nelson | Saint Joseph's | PG | Senior |
| 2004–05 | Andrew Bogut | Utah | C | Sophomore |
| 2005–06 | JJ Redick | Duke | SG | Senior |
| 2006–07 | Kevin Durant | Texas | SF | Freshman |
| 2007–08 | Tyler Hansbrough | North Carolina | PF | Junior |
| 2008–09 | Blake Griffin | Oklahoma | PF | Sophomore |
| 2009–10 | Evan Turner | Ohio State | SG | Junior |
| 2010–11 | Jimmer Fredette | BYU | PG | Senior |
| 2011–12 | Anthony Davis | Kentucky | C | Freshman |
| 2012–13 | Trey Burke | Michigan | PG | Sophomore |
| 2013–14 | Doug McDermott | Creighton | SF | Senior |
| 2014–15 | Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin | PF | Senior |
| 2015–16 | Denzel Valentine | Michigan State | SG | Senior |
| 2016–17 | Frank Mason III | Kansas | PG | Senior |
| 2017–18 | Jalen Brunson | Villanova | PG | Junior |
| 2018–19 | Zion Williamson | Duke | SF / PF | Freshman |
| 2019–20 | Obi Toppin | Dayton | PF | Sophomore |
| 2020–21 | Luka Garza | Iowa | C | Senior |
| 2021–22 | Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | C | Junior |
| 2022–23 | Zach Edey | Purdue | C | Junior |
| 2023–24 | Zach Edey (2) | Purdue | C | Senior |

## Winners by school

| School | Winners | Years |
| Duke | 7 | 1963, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2019 |
| UCLA | 5 | 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1977 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 1961, 1962, 1964, 2010 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 1984, 1998, 2008 |
| Purdue | 3 | 1994, 2023, 2024 |
| Virginia | 3 | 1981, 1982, 1983 |
| Indiana | 2 | 1976, 1993 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 2012, 2022 |
| LSU | 2 | 1970, 1991 |
| Michigan | 2 | 1966, 2013 |
| NC State | 2 | 1974, 1975 |
| Arizona | 1 | 1989 |
| Bradley | 1 | 1988 |
| Brigham Young | 1 | 2011 |
| Cincinnati | 1 | 2000 |
| Creighton | 1 | 2014 |
| Dayton | 1 | 2020 |
| DePaul | 1 | 1980 |
| Georgetown | 1 | 1985 |
| Houston | 1 | 1968 |
| Indiana State | 1 | 1979 |
| Iowa | 1 | 2021 |
| Kansas | 1 | 2017 |
| La Salle | 1 | 1990 |
| Marquette | 1 | 1978 |
| Maryland | 1 | 1995 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1996 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 2016 |
| Navy | 1 | 1987 |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 1971 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 2009 |
| Princeton | 1 | 1965 |
| Saint Joseph's | 1 | 2004 |
| St. John's | 1 | 1986 |
| Texas | 1 | 2007 |
| Utah | 1 | 2005 |
| Villanova | 1 | 2018 |
| Wake Forest | 1 | 1997 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 2015 |
| Xavier | 1 | 2003 |

## Footnotes

* $^a$ Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.