Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year explained

Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Description:	the most outstanding basketball player in the Missouri Valley Conference
Country:	United States
Year:	1969
Holder:	Tucker DeVries, Drake

The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed to honor Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who played at Indiana State from 1977 to 1979 and led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA Championship game. Bird won every major player of the year award (including the Naismith and Wooden awards) in 1979.

Creighton and Drake have the most all-time winners with seven, but Creighton left the conference in July 2013 to join the reconfigured Big East Conference. Four current conference members have not had a winner, but three of them (Belmont, Murray State, and UIC) played their first MVC seasons in 2022–23, and the other (Valparaiso) played its first MVC season in 2017–18.

There have never been any ties for the player of the year, but there have been 10 repeat winners in the award's history. Of the repeat winners, Fred VanVleet of Wichita State (2014 and 2016) and A. J. Green of Northern Iowa (2020, 2022) won in non-consecutive years.

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 MVC Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

Season	Player	School	Position	Class	Reference
1968–69		Tulsa	SF		^[1]
1969–70		Cincinnati	C		^[2]
1970–71		Drake	SF		^[3]
1971–72		Memphis	G		^[4]
1972–73		Memphis	PF		^[5]
1973–74		Louisville	SF		^[6]
1974–75	(2)	Louisville	SF		^[7]
1975–76		Southern Illinois	PG		^[8]
1976–77		Bradley	SG		^[9]
1977–78		Indiana State	SF		^[10]
1978–79	(2)	Indiana State	SF		^[11]
1979–80		Drake	SF / SG		^[12]
1980–81	(2)	Drake	SF / SG		^[13]
1981–82		Tulsa	PG / F		^[14]
1982–83		Wichita State	C
1983–84		Wichita State	PF		^[15]
1984–85	(2)	Wichita State	PF		^[16]
1985–86		Bradley	PG		^[17]
1986–87		Bradley	SG		^[18]
1987–88	(2)	Bradley	SG		^[19]
1988–89		Bradley	PG		^[20]
1989–90		Creighton	PF		^[21]
1990–91		Creighton	C		^[22]
1991–92		Southern Illinois	PF		^[23]
1992–93		Drake	PG		^[24]
1993–94		Tulsa	SF		^[25]
1994–95		Southern Illinois	SG		^[26]
1995–96		Bradley	SG / SF		^[27]
1996–97		Northern Iowa	PG		^[28]
1997–98		Illinois State	F		^[29]
1998–99		Evansville	SG / PG		^[30]
1999–00		Indiana State	SF		^[31]
2000–01		Illinois State	PG		^[32]
2001–02		Creighton	SF / SG		^[33]
2002–03	(2)	Creighton	SF / SG
2003–04		Southern Illinois	G		^[34]
2004–05	(2)	Southern Illinois	G
2005–06		Wichita State	C		^[35]
2006–07		Southern Illinois	SG		^[36]
2007–08		Drake	PG		^[37]
2008–09		Creighton	SG		^[38]
2009–10		Northern Iowa	PF		^[39]
2010–11		Missouri State	SF		^[40]
2011–12		Creighton	SF / PF		^[41]
2012–13	(2)	Creighton	SF / PF
2013–14		Wichita State	PG		^[42]
2014–15		Northern Iowa	PF		^[43]
2015–16	(2)	Wichita State	PG		^[44]
2016–17		Illinois State	PG		^[45]
2017–18		Loyola	PG		^[46]
2018–19		Loyola	SG		^[47]
2019–20		Northern Iowa	PG		^[48]
2020–21		Loyola	C		^[49]
2021–22	(2)	Northern Iowa	PG		^[50]
2022–23		Drake	SG / SF		^[51]
2023–24	(2)	Drake	SG / SF		^[52]

Winners by school

School (year joined)	Winners	Years
Creighton (1977)	7	1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2013
Drake (1907)	7	1971, 1980, 1981, 1993, 2008, 2023, 2024
Bradley (1948)	6	1977, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996
Southern Illinois (1975)	6	1976, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2007
Wichita State (1945)	6	1983, 1984, 1985, 2006, 2014, 2016
Northern Iowa (1991)	5	1997, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022
Illinois State (1981)	3	1998, 2001, 2017
Indiana State (1977)	3	1978, 1979, 2000
Loyola (2013)	3	2018, 2019, 2021
Tulsa (1935)	3	1969, 1982, 1994
Louisville (1963)	2	1974, 1975
Memphis (1968)	2	1972, 1973
Cincinnati (1957)	1	1970
Evansville (1994)	1	1999
Missouri State (1990)	1	2011
Belmont (2022)	0	—
Murray State (2022)	0	—
UIC (2022)	0	—
Valparaiso (2017)	0	—

Notes and References

1. News: 'Bingo' Smith named MVC's top player . Johnson City Press . . March 25, 1969 . 8. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
2. News: Jim Ard, Player Of Year In MVC . . . March 10, 1970 . 9. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
3. News: Drake's Halliburton top Valley player . . . March 17, 1971 . 18. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
4. News: Finch Named Player of Year . . . March 16, 1972 . 24. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
5. News: Larry Kenon Wins Another Big Honor . Memphis Press-Scimitar . Memphis, Tennessee . March 14, 1973 . 39. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
6. News: Louisville's Bridgeman – MVC's Best . . . March 8, 1974 . 20. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
7. News: Bridgeman MVC Player of Year . . . March 19, 1975 . 50. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
8. News: Saluki is top MVC player . . . March 30, 1976 . 45. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
9. News: Roger Phegley Named Missouri Valley Player Of The Year . Taylorville Daily Breeze-Courier . . March 9, 1977 . 10. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
10. News: 'Birdman' Is Valley's Player Of The Year . . . March 2, 1978 . 16. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
11. News: Drake coach stresses excellence in Neenah . . . March 28, 1979 . 4. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
12. News: Lloyd snares three Drake cage honors . . Des Moines, Iowa . March 31, 1980 . 20. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
13. News: Lloyd heads MVC picks . . . March 10, 1981 . 7. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
14. Web site: Men's Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Winners . . 2024 . sports-reference.com . Sports Reference LLC . February 4, 2024.
15. News: WSU's Sherrod Invited to Olympic Tryouts . . . April 4, 1984 . 13. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
16. News: McDaniel named Player of the Year . . . March 14, 1985 . 15. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
17. News: Thomas. Jim. Bradley Standout Les Is Peoria's 'Springsteen' . . . March 15, 1986 . 13. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
18. News: Hawkins named MVC player of year . The Pantagraph . Bloomington–Normal . March 2, 1987 . 28. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
19. News: Bradley's Hawkins named MVC Player of the Year . . . March 4, 1988 . 65. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
20. News: Bradley guard named MVC Player of Year . . . March 3, 1989 . 38. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
21. News: Sinclair. Steve. Harstad: I'd Trade Honor For Three Tourney Wins . . . March 2, 1990 . 37. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
22. News: Dorr. Dave. MVC Title On Line For Kiel's Final Bow . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 5, 1991 . 24. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
23. News: Amaya tops Valley honor squad; Turner on 2nd team . . . March 5, 1992 . 13. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
24. News: Thomas. Jim. Little Man Beats Big Man For MVC Player Of Year . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 3, 1993 . 15. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
25. News: Tramel. Jimmie. Collier, Dawkins, Seals Sweep MVC Honors . . . March 2, 1994 . 29. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
26. News: Thomas. Jim. Salukis Get Good Mileage From MVC Player Of Year . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 1, 1995 . 17. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
27. News: Kindred. Randy. Bradley expects first-round foe Drake to have added incentive . The Pantagraph . Bloomington–Normal . March 2, 1996 . 8. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
28. News: Players to watch: G Jason Daisy . . . March 1, 1997 . 24. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
29. News: Conference Tournaments: Missouri Valley . . . March 1, 1998 . 47. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
30. News: Dutton. Bob. Numbers adding up for Evansville guard . . . March 12, 1999 . 40. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
31. News: Nate Green named MVC player of year . The Des Moines Register . Des Moines, Iowa . March 1, 2000 . 19. Newspapers.com. February 4, 2024.
32. News: Missouri Valley Conference capsules: Illinois State . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 2, 2001 . 37. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
33. News: Pivovar. Steven. Korver back as Valley's best . Omaha World-Herald . Omaha, Nebraska . March 4, 2003 . 17. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
34. News: Knapp. Adam. Brooks again gets Valley double . The Wichita Eagle . Wichita, Kansas . March 2, 2005 . 35. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
35. News: Beard. Aaron. Shockers indeed: Wichita State topples No. 2-seed Tennessee . . . March 19, 2006 . 31. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
36. News: Bannon. Terry. Singing praises of music man . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . March 21, 2007 . 4–8. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
37. News: College log book . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . March 16, 2008 . 29. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
38. News: Creighton's Woodfox named MVC player of the year . . . March 4, 2009 . 19. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
39. News: Beaton. Kelly. Koch tabbed top player in Valley . . . March 3, 2010 . 11. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
40. News: Coats. Bill. Weems honored . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 2, 2011 . C002. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
41. News: McDermott named MVC player of the year again . Kearney Hub . Kearney, Nebraska . March 6, 2013 . 12. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
42. News: Tigges. Carson. Tuttle cracks all-MVC first team . The Courier . Waterloo, Iowa . March 5, 2014 . B3. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
43. News: Davis. Jeremiah. UNI's Tuttle strives, achieves . . . March 5, 2015 . M5. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
44. News: All-Missouri Valley Conference . . . March 2, 2016 . A20. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
45. News: Benson. Jim. 1 for Lee... 1 for Mom? . The Pantagraph . Bloomington–Normal . March 1, 2017 . B1. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
46. News: Missouri Valley Conference Tournament: 1. Loyola (25–5, 15–3) . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri . March 1, 2018 . B04. Newspapers.com. February 7, 2024.
47. News: All-Missouri Valley . . . March 6, 2019 . B5. Newspapers.com . February 7, 2024.
48. News: Petaros. Nick. A.J. Green named MVC Player of the Year . . . March 4, 2020 . B5. Newspapers.com . February 7, 2024.
49. News: Hammond. Sean. Loyola's Krutwig is MVC player of year . . . March 3, 2021 . A21. Newspapers.com . February 7, 2024.
50. News: Dent. Bucky. Loyola advances past UNI at MVC tourney . . . March 6, 2022 . A6. Newspapers.com . February 7, 2024.
51. News: DeVries top player . The Pantagraph . Bloomington–Normal . March 3, 2023 . B2. Newspapers.com . February 7, 2024.
52. News: Raby. John. Drake star DeVries transferring to WVU . Muscatine Journal . Muscatine, Iowa . March 29, 2024 . B1. Newspapers.com . June 23, 2024.