PHOENIX, Arizona (April 7, 2024) - Purdue’s Zach Edey has been named the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Subs Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year in a live ceremony in Phoenix. This announcement comes ahead of Purdue’s Championship matchup against the UConn Huskies tomorrow night.
The Toronto native is averaging a double-double with the Boilermakers this season, leading the NCAA in scoring, averaging 24.9 points to go with 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. In Purdue’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee, Edey scored a career-high 40 points and 16 rebounds to secure the victory, including a crucial block late in the game.
"It's not an easy thing to do", said Edey on becoming the first back-to-back winner of the award since 1983. "When you see the people that have done it before you, it's just really amazing."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“When you see the people that have done it before you… It’s just really amazing.” 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/TheAndyKatz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAndyKatz</a> talked with Zach Edey about being the first back-to-back <a href="https://twitter.com/NaismithTrophy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NaismithTrophy</a> Player of the Year since 1983 🎙️ <a href="https://t.co/keqwP2GmaX">pic.twitter.com/keqwP2GmaX</a></p>— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1777055243379027999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a career year for the Canadian center, Edey has also recieved the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Associated Press Player of the Year Award — both for the second straight year. The Naismith Player of the Year is now Edey's tenth player of the year recognition, with the final two remaining being from the Wooden Award and the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Edey will look to put Purdue on top of March Madness as the Boilermakers take on the UConn Huskies for the NCAA title on Monday, April 8 at 9:20 pm ET.