TheHorizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to theHorizon League 's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1979–80 season, the first year of the conference's existence. Seven players have won the award multiple times:Byron Larkin ,Brian Grant ,Rashad Phillips ,Alfredrick Hughes ,Keifer Sykes ,Loudon Love , andAntoine Davis . Hughes, unlike the other four who each won twice, was awarded the player of the year on three occasions.
There have only been three ties in the award's history (1981, 1983, 2022).Butler , which left for theAtlantic 10 Conference in 2012 and is now in theBig East Conference , has seven recipients, which is tied for the most all-time withDetroit Mercy . Three current members of the Horizon League have never had a winner –IU Indy ,Purdue Fort Wayne , andYoungstown State . However, these schools include two of the conference's newest members—IU Indy joined in 2017 and Purdue Fort Wayne joined in 2020. The only long-established member without a winner is Youngstown State, which joined in 2002. Future memberNorthern Illinois , which rejoins in 2026, did not have a recipient during its first conference tenure from 1994 to 1997.
School (year joined) Winners Years Butler (1980)[ a] 7 1991, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 Detroit Mercy (1981)7 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2013, 2022† , 2023 Loyola Chicago (1980)[ b] 6 1981† , 1982, 1983† , 1984, 1985, 1987 Xavier (1980)[ c] 5 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994 Oakland (2013)4 2016, 2018, 2022† , 2024 Green Bay (1995)3 1996, 2014, 2015 Wright State (1995)3 2007, 2020, 2021 Evansville (1980)[ d] 2 1989, 1992 Milwaukee (1995)2 2004, 2005 Oral Roberts (1980)[ e] 2 1980, 1983† UIC (1995)[ f] 2 1995, 1998 Valparaiso (2008)[ g] 2 2012, 2017 Cleveland State (1995)1 2011 Northern Kentucky (2015)1 2019 Oklahoma City (1980)[ h] 1 1981† Robert Morris (2020)1 2025 IU Indy (2017)[ i] 0 — Purdue Fort Wayne (2020)0 — Youngstown State (2002)0 —
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RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Bansch, John (March 1, 1986)."Firin' Byron burns Loyola with 45 points" .The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 23. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Hall of Fame: Andre Moore (2018)" .LoyolaRamblers.com .Loyola University Chicago . 2021. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 .^ "All-MCC Team" .Pharos-Tribune .Logansport, Indiana . March 10, 1988. p. 12. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Guards of NCAA West pass test of the best" .The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. March 18, 1989. p. 28. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Hill, Gillen claim MCC's top honors" .The Daily Advocate .Greenville, Ohio . March 8, 1990. p. 7. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Sonderegger, John (March 7, 1991)."Bills Await Marquette, Put NIT On Back Burner" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch .St. Louis, Missouri . p. 16. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Ethridge, Tim (March 17, 1992)."Casebier can't explain success" .Evansville Press . Evansville, Indiana. p. 17. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^a b Glynn, Rory (March 6, 1994)."XU sweeps MCC awards" .The Cincinnati Enquirer .Cincinnati, Ohio . p. 35. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Robinson second-team, Coleman all-newcomer in MCC" .Daily Chronicle .DeKalb, Illinois . March 3, 1995. p. 11. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Raboin, Sharon (March 1, 1996)."Phoenix gets defensive" .Green Bay Press-Gazette .Green Bay, Wisconsin . p. 19. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Butler makes NCAA field with 69–68 win over Illinois–Chicago" .Courier Journal .Louisville, Kentucky . March 5, 1997. p. 13. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Yantz, Tom (March 13, 1998)."Colson Points Charlotte Toward UNC" .Hartford Courant .Hartford, Connecticut . p. 133. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Lowitt, Bruce (March 13, 1999)."Nothing's small-time about Detroit pride" .Tampa Bay Times .St. Petersburg, Florida . p. 86. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^a b Archdeacon, Tom (March 3, 2001)."The rap on Rashad? Too tough" .Dayton Daily News .Dayton, Ohio . p. 23. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Green Bay bumps off top-seeded Bulldogs" .Dayton Daily News . Dayton, Ohio. March 3, 2002. p. 18. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Green tops in Horizon, wants more" .Detroit Free Press .Detroit, Michigan . March 4, 2003. p. 26. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Williams, Scott (March 6, 2004)."On the Horizon: Page driven to success at UWM" .Stevens Point Journal .Stevens Point, Wisconsin . p. 9. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Lewter, Micah (March 17, 2005)."Journey for UWM star guard full of twists, turns" .Dothan Eagle .Dothan, Alabama . p. 29. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Curnutte, Mark (March 14, 2006)."Butler on horizon" .The Cincinnati Enquirer . Cincinnati, Ohio. p. 21. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Archdeacon, Tom (March 11, 2007)."Mean streets helped shape Wright State's Wood" .Dayton Daily News . Dayton, Ohio. p. 40. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Butler guard Green Horizon League player of the year" .The Star Press .Muncie, Indiana . March 4, 2008. p. 10. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "No. 22 Butler 62, Wright State 57" .Independent Record .Helena, Montana . March 8, 2009. p. 18. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Woods, David (March 17, 2010)."Butler's Ace" .The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. B1. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Cole ends Butler's run" .Dayton Daily News . Dayton, Ohio. March 1, 2011. p. 14. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Basketball (cont. from A1)" .Munster Times .Munster, Indiana . March 6, 2012. p. A5. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Oren, Paul (March 5, 2013)."Horizon League honors Crusaders basketball" .The Times of Northwest Indiana . Munster, Indiana. p. B3. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^a b Haugh, David (March 6, 2015)."Horizon looks good for city star" .Chicago Tribune .Chicago, Illinois . p. 3. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Honors" .Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. March 10, 2016. p. C7. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ "2017 Horizon League awards" .Green Bay Press-Gazette . Green Bay, Wisconsin. March 2, 2017. p. C6. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.^ Farrell, Perry A. (March 1, 2018)."High-scoring Nunn claims Horizon League's top honor" .Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. C6. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Lage, Larry (March 13, 2019)."NKU tops Wright State 77–66" .News Journal .Wilmington, Ohio . p. 10. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^a b Harris, Doug (March 9, 2021)."WSU still hurting from HL loss but have talent returning" .Dayton Daily News . Dayton, Ohio. p. C5. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^a b Crawford, Kirkland (March 1, 2022)."Horizon League co-Players of the Year: UDM's Davis, OU's Cain" .Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. B5. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Weber, James (March 2, 2023)."Horizon League all-league awards" .The Cincinnati Enquirer . Cincinnati, Ohio. p. D4. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ Garcia, Tony (March 29, 2024)."Oakland basketball star Townsend to declare for the 2024 NBA draft" .Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. C3. RetrievedJune 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. ^ White, Rachel (March 3, 2025)."Horizon League Unveils 2024–25 All-League Awards" .HorizonLeague.org . RetrievedMarch 3, 2025 .
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