Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Introduction The '''Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year''' is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The award was first given following the conference's first basketball season of 1976–77.Four players have been selected twice (Terry Catledge, Chris Gatling, Chico Fletcher, and R. J. Hunter), while no player has earned a three-time player of the year selection.Western Kentucky, which left the SBC for Conference USA in 2014, has the most all-time winners with seven. Among schools remaining in the SBC beyond 2014, South Alabama, the only charter member that has continuously been in the conference, has the most winners with six.
Key  † Co-Players of the Year* Awarded a national player of the year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Sun Belt Player of the Year award at that point
Winners Cedric Maxwell won the first award with Charlotte in 1977.Ervin Johnson won in 1993 as a senior for New Orleans.Derek Fisher, the 1996 Sun Belt Player of the Year, has won five NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers.R. J. Hunter won the award in 2014 and 2015Tookie Brown of Georgia Southern won in 2019 Season Player School Position ClassReference 1976–77  Charlotte PF/C   1977–78  New Orleans C   1978–79  South Alabama PF   1979–80  Jacksonville PF   1980–81  South Alabama SF   1981–82  UAB SG   1982–83†  South Florida SF    VCU SG   1983–84  South Alabama PF   1984–85  (2) South Alabama PF   1985–86  Old Dominion C   1986–87  Western Kentucky PF   1987–88  Charlotte PG   1988–89  South Alabama SG   1989–90  Old Dominion PF   1990–91  (2) Old Dominion PF   1991–92  Louisiana Tech PF   1992–93  New Orleans C   1993–94†  Louisiana G    Arkansas State F   1994–95  Western Kentucky SG   1995–96  Little Rock SG   1996–97  Little Rock PF   1997–98  Arkansas State PG   1998–99  (2) Arkansas State PG   1999–00  Louisiana Tech SG   2000–01  Western Kentucky C   2001–02  New Orleans SF   2002–03  New Mexico State F   2003–04  Western Kentucky SG/PG   2004–05  Denver C   2005–06  Western Kentucky SG   2006–07  New Orleans PG   2007–08  Western Kentucky SG   2008–09  Western Kentucky PG   2009–10  Louisiana PF   2010–11  Little Rock SG   2011–12  Middle Tennessee PF   2012–13  South Alabama PF / C   2013–14  Georgia State SG   2014–15  (2) Georgia State SG   2015–16  Louisiana PF   2016–17  UT Arlington PF   2017–18  Georgia State SG   2018–19  Georgia Southern PG   2019–20  Texas State SG   2020–21  Coastal Carolina SG   2021–22  Arkansas State PF   2022–23  Marshall SG
Winners by school  School (year joined) Winners Years Western Kentucky (1982) 7 1987, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 South Alabama (1976) 6 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2013 Arkansas State (1991) 4 1994†, 1998, 1999, 2022 New Orleans (1976) 4 1978, 1993, 2002, 2007 Georgia State (1976/2013) 3 2014, 2015, 2018 Little Rock (1991) 3 1996, 1997, 2011 Louisiana (1991) 3 1994†, 2010, 2016 Old Dominion (1982/2022) 3 1986, 1990, 1991 Charlotte (1976) 2 1977, 1988 Louisiana Tech (1991) 2 1992, 2000 Coastal Carolina (2016) 1 2021 Denver (1999) 1 2005 Georgia Southern (2014) 1 2019 Jacksonville (1976) 1 1980 Marshall (2022) 1 2023 Middle Tennessee (2001) 1 2012 New Mexico State (2001) 1 2003 South Florida (1976) 1 1983† Texas State (2013) 1 2020 UAB (1979) 1 1982 UT Arlington (2013) 1 2017 VCU (1979) 1 1983† Appalachian State (2014) 0 — Florida Atlantic (2006) 0 — FIU (1998) 0 — James Madison (2022) 0 — Louisiana–Monroe (2001) 0 — North Texas (2001) 0 — Southern Miss (2022) 0 — Troy (2005) 0 —
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