American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year

American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year
American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year
Awarded for	the most outstanding rookie basketball player in the American Athletic Conference
Country	United States
First awarded	2014
Currently held by	PJ Haggerty, Tulsa

The American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year is a basketball award given to the American Athletic Conference's one or more best men's basketball players in their first year of competitive play. The conference formed in 2013–14 after many schools departed from the original Big East Conference to form their own conference. Austin Nichols of Memphis was the first-ever winner.^[1] This award is voted for by the coaches and can only be awarded once to any player.

Key

†	Co-Players of the Year
*	Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) or the John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present)

Winners

Season	Player	School	Position	Class	Ref.
2013–14	Austin Nichols	Memphis	Forward	Freshman	^[1]
2014–15	Daniel Hamilton	UConn	Swingman	Freshman	^[2]
2015–16	Dedric Lawson	Memphis	Forward	Freshman	^[3]
2016–17	K. J. Lawson	Memphis	Swingman	RS Freshman	^[4]
2017–18	Shawn Williams	East Carolina	Guard	RS Freshman	^[5]
2018–19	Alexis Yetna	South Florida	Forward	RS Freshman	^[6]
2019–20	Precious Achiuwa	Memphis	Forward	Freshman	^[7]
2020–21	Moussa Cissé	Memphis	Center	Freshman	^[8]
2021–22	Jalen Duren	Memphis	Center	Freshman	^[9]
2022–23	Jarace Walker	Houston	Forward	Freshman	^[10]
2023–24	PJ Haggerty	Tulsa	Guard	RS Freshman	^[11]

Winners by school

School (year joined)	Winners	Years
Memphis (2013)	6	2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022
East Carolina (2014)	1	2018
Houston (2013)^{[a 1]}	1	2023
South Florida (2013)	1	2019
Tulsa (2014)	1	2024
UConn (2013)^{[a 2]}	1	2015
Cincinnati (2013)^{[a 1]}	0	—
Louisville (2013)^{[a 3]}	0	—
Rutgers (2013)^{[a 3]}	0	—
SMU (2013)	0	—
Temple (2013)	0	—
Tulane (2014)	0	—
UCF (2013)^{[a 1]}	0	—
Wichita State (2017)	0	—

^ ^a ^b ^c Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF left The American after the 2022–23 season to join the current Big 12 Conference.^[12]
^ UConn left The American after the 2019–20 season to join the current Big East Conference.^[13]
^ ^a ^b Louisville and Rutgers played only the 2013–14 season in The American. In July 2014, they respectively left for the ACC^[14] and Big Ten.^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b "American Athletic Conference - UConn's Shabazz Napier Named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year". Theamerican.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
^ "American Athletic Conference - SMU's Nic Moore Named Men's Basketball Player of the Year". Theamerican.org. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
^ "American Athletic Conference - SMU's Moore Named Men's Basketball Player of the Year for Second Consecutive Season". Theamerican.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
^ "American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Notes" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. April 12, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
^ "Clark Named American Player of the Year, Williams Rookie of the Year & Sampson Coach of the Year".
^ "American Athletic Conference Awards Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year".
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards". theamerican.org. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
^ Adelson, Andrea (June 10, 2022). "Cincinnati, Houston, UCF reach exit deal with American, to join Big 12 in 2023". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
^ Borzello, Jeff (July 26, 2019). "UConn leaving AAC in '20, will owe $17M exit fee". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
^ "ACC Extends Formal Invitation for Membership to the University of Louisville" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
^ "Rutgers University To Join The Big Ten Conference" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-27. Retrieved November 20, 2012.

[Cincinnati,_Houston,_UCF-13] Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF left The American after the 2022–23 season to join the current Big 12 Conference.^[12]

[15] UConn left The American after the 2019–20 season to join the current Big East Conference.^[13]

[Louisville,_Rutgers-18] Louisville and Rutgers played only the 2013–14 season in The American. In July 2014, they respectively left for the ACC^[14] and Big Ten.^[15]

[theamerican1-1] "American Athletic Conference - UConn's Shabazz Napier Named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year". Theamerican.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.

[2] "American Athletic Conference - SMU's Nic Moore Named Men's Basketball Player of the Year". Theamerican.org. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2016-12-04.

[3] "American Athletic Conference - SMU's Moore Named Men's Basketball Player of the Year for Second Consecutive Season". Theamerican.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.

[4] "American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Notes" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. April 12, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2022.

[5] "Clark Named American Player of the Year, Williams Rookie of the Year & Sampson Coach of the Year".

[6] "American Athletic Conference Awards Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year".

[7] "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards". theamerican.org. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-11.

[8] "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

[9] "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.

[10] "The American Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.

[11] "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-06-01.

[12] Adelson, Andrea (June 10, 2022). "Cincinnati, Houston, UCF reach exit deal with American, to join Big 12 in 2023". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.

[14] Borzello, Jeff (July 26, 2019). "UConn leaving AAC in '20, will owe $17M exit fee". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.

[16] "ACC Extends Formal Invitation for Membership to the University of Louisville" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.

[17] "Rutgers University To Join The Big Ten Conference" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-27. Retrieved November 20, 2012.

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