2019 American Athletic Conference

Major Awards Player of the Year Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati Freshman of the Year Alexis Yetna, USF Coach of the Year Kelvin Sampson, Houston

The American Athletic Conference announced its final individual awards, which include the Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year, in advance of the 2019 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, March 14-17 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. The awards were voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.Cincinnati and Houston both earn its second-straight Player and Coach of the Year awards, respectively, while USF gets its first-ever top-freshman honor. Bearcats' junior Jarron Cumberland is the 2019 Player of the Year while Bulls' redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna was voted the Freshman of the Year. UH head coach Kelvin Sampson earns his second-consecutive Coach of the Year honor.Cumberland was chosen as the league's Player of the Year two days after earning unanimous All-Conference First Team honors. He makes it two top player honors in-a-row for Cincinnati after Gary Clark earned the award last season.The junior guard averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists during the regular season, helping lead the Bearcats to a 25-6 overall record and second-place finish at 14-4 in the league. He scored 20 or more points 15 times during the season and served as Cincinnati's top scorer in 20 games, including 14 of 18 in league play. UC is one of two nationally-ranked American teams as the Bearcats check in at No. 24/23.Cumberland ranked among The American leaders in seven categories this season: points (third, 18.4), three-point field goal percentage (fifth, .404), 3-pointers made (sixth, 2.3), free throw percentage (eighth, .780), assists (11, 3.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (13, 1.3) and minutes played (15, 32.1).Cumberland was recognized by the league nine times for weekly honors in 2018-19, earning player of the week accolades four times (Nov. 26, Dec. 24, Jan. 21 and Jan. 28) and a spot on the weekly honor roll five times (Jan. 14, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and March 4). Additionally, he was selected to Naismith National Player of the Year Midseason Team, Lute Olson Player of the Year Midseason Watch List and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List.Yetna led The American in rebounding in his first season and helped USF to one of the best turnarounds in the country ( 9.5 differential). Additionally, he led the league with 11 double-doubles this season.He started his season strong collecting 17 rebounds and 11 points on Nov. 18 against Georgetown for his first career double-double. He would go on to register 14 double-digit rebounding games as he ranks 27th in the NCAA with 9.6 rebounds per game. His 277 rebounds set a USF single-season freshman record and are the second-most in a single season by any freshman in league history. In addition, Yetna paced The American and stands 21st in the nation with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game.Offensively, Yetna averaged 12.1 points per game and has scored the seventh-most, single-season points in school history by a freshman with 350. He ranks 41st in the NCAA with 11 double-doubles and ended the regular season with more doubles-doubles than six teams in The American.Sampson earns his second-straight Coach of the Year honor after a record-setting season for the Cougars. He has led the Cougars to a 29-2 overall record and 16-2 mark in American Athletic Conference play entering the postseason. With the Cougars' 85-69 win at No. 20/19 Cincinnati on Sunday, his Houston team captured the outright American Athletic Conference regular-season championship, a first for the program since 1983-84.The Cougars won their first 15 games to open the season before falling at Temple in early January but rallied with a 12-game winning streak following that setback. They are the only team in American history to have two 12-game win streaks in a season. Additionally, Houston's 29 regular-season wins set a school single-season mark and topped the previous record of 28 victories by the 1967-68 team.Under Sampson, the Cougars boast unanimous All-Conference First Team selection in Corey Davis, Jr., a second-teamer in Armoni Brooks, the Sixth Man of the Year in DeJon Jarreau and Sportsmanship Award winner Galen Robinson, Jr.For more information on the American Men's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/mbb The American Athletic Conference (The American), a member of the NCAA, was reconstituted in 2013. With the conference office in Providence, Rhode Island, The American is comprised of the following institutions: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy (in football only), USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa and Wichita State. Under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Aresco, The American sponsors 22 championships - 10 for men and 12 for women; is a member of the College Football Playoff; began new television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports in 2014; and has a marketing partnership with Learfield IMG College. For more information, please visit www.TheAmerican.org