 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the West Coast Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 1953 |
| Most recent | Augustas Marčiulionis, Saint Mary's |
The West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The award was first given following the conference's inaugural 1952–53 season, when it was known as the California Basketball Association. The only season in which the award was not presented was the conference's second season of 1953–54. There have been six ties in the award's history, most recently in 2022–23 between Brandin Podziemski of Santa Clara and Drew Timme of Gonzaga. There have also been 13 repeat winners, but only one, Bill Cartwright of San Francisco, has been player of the year three times.
Four schools in the WCC have dominated the total awards distribution. Before 2000, Pepperdine, San Francisco and Santa Clara had earned the bulk of the awards. Since then, Gonzaga has had the overwhelming majority of selections. In the 23 seasons from 2000–01 to the present, coinciding with the Bulldogs' rise to national prominence, Gonzaga players have won or shared the award 17 times. Gonzaga now claims the most awards with 20 and most individual winners with 18. Santa Clara is second in awards with 12, and its nine individual winners give it a share of second place in that category with Pepperdine. The next closest school, Saint Mary's, has nine awards. One current member has yet to have a winner (Portland); two other schools, Oregon State and Washington State, will play their first WCC season in 2024–25.