Zach Edey wins AP Player of the Year, becomes first back-to-back winner since 1983

The Associated Press hasn’t had a back-to-back winner for Player of the Year in college basketball in over 40 years. Now, for the first time since 1983, they do after their announcement on Friday.

Purdue’s Zach Edey won AP Player of the Year on Friday per a release from the Associate Press. That made him their first player to win the award in consecutive seasons since Ralph Sampson did so at Virginia in three straight years from 1981 to 1983.

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Zach Edey of Purdue is the AP Player of the Year in men's college basketball for the second consecutive year.

He is the first back-to-back winner since Ralph Sampson at Virginia in the 1980s. https://t.co/MBZEvj4IhU pic.twitter.com/T5vx9rRtI3

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 5, 2024

Edey won in a landslide of a vote with 57 of the 62 that were cast in favor of him. Tennesse’s Dalton Knecht earned three of those votes while Houston’s Jamal Shead got the remaining pair.

This recognition made Edey the fifth player to ever take home AP Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did receive the honor twice while in UCLA but he did not do it in back-to-back years.

Edey earned the award by posting an even better campaign this season than he did in the last one. In ’22-’23, he averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks while shooting 60.7% in his 34 games. In ’23-’24, though, those are up to 25 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks on 62.4% shooting in 37 games.

That production has also led Purdue to their best season in quite some time. The Boilermakers went 76-24 over his first three seasons but disappointed in each of those years in the NCAA Tournament. However, in his senior year, they’re 33-4 and will play in the Final Four for the first time since 1980.

That run to Phoenix has come on the back of Edey to go with the rest of his teammates. In this March Madness, he has averaged 30 points, 16.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks while shooting 65.6% from the field in their four games. Their Elite Eight win over the Volunteers was the best of his career as he went for a 40-point, 16-rebound double-double while hitting 61.9% of his shot and making 14 of 22 attempts (63.6%) at the free-throw line.

Edey can now add this award to his long resumé of others over his career in West Lafayette. The two-time winner of the AP Player of the Year has also already won the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, and is an two-time Consensus All-American. He just added an All-Region Selection in this NCAA Tournament too. That’s not to mention all of his conference accolades, including being a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year.

Edey could build on his legacy even more if he were to secure any more national awards. Taking Purdue to the title game or winning their first championship in the NCAA Tournament would also do the trick.

Edey is quickly joining and moving up the all-time list of players in collegiate history with what he has attained, especially over the past two years. All that’s left is to see what else he adds off the court in terms of awards or on it this weekend in the Final Four.