Individual Awards

Player of the Year Semi Ojeleye, SMU



Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Semi Ojeleye, SMU



Rookie of the Year

K.J. Lawson, Memphis



Coach of the Year

Tim Jankovich, SMU

– SMU junior forward Semi Ojeleye became the first player in American Athletic Conference history to earn both Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors on Thursday. Additionally, SMU head coach Tim Jankovich was voted the Coach of the Year and Memphis redshirt freshman K.J. Lawson was selected the Rookie of the Year.Ojeleye, after not appearing in a competitive game for nearly two full years, helped lead No. 12/15 SMU to The American regular-season title, averaging 18.5 points per game while knocking down over 43 percent of his three-point attempts. Ojeleye has scored in double figures in 30 of 31 contests, in 23 consecutive games, and registered 20 or more points on 11 occasions.Ojeleye joins former Mustang Nic Moore as Player of the Year recipients; this is the third straight season the award will return to Dallas. Earlier in the day, Ojeleye was selected as the men’s basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year, as voted upon by the American Academic Affairs Committee.Lawson joins his brother, Dedric, keeping the Rookie of the Year award in the Lawson family for the second straight season. After appearing in 10 games in 2015-16 and redshirting, Lawson retuned to the Memphis lineup and appeared in all 31 games for the Tigers. Lawson averaged 12.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, turning in nine double-doubles this season, third-most in The American.Jankovich guided the Mustangs to a No. 12 ranking, 27-4 overall record and a record 17-1 mark in The American, claiming the outright regular-season championship. The 27 wins are the most by a head coach in his first full season at his current school. In addition to being a Naismith Coach of the Year candidate, Jankovich was named the USBWA District VII Coach of the Year. Twice this season the Mustangs have had winning streaks of at least 12 games, and SMU will carry a 13-game winning streak into the Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship.The Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.The 2017 Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship will begin with three first-round games on Thursday, March 9, culminating with conference title game on Sunday, March 12 at 3:15 p.m. ET. The entire championship will be carried across the ESPN networks.For more information on the American Men’s Basketball Championship, please visit championship central at www.theamerican.org/mbb