IRVING, Texas — The American Conference has announced the winners of the league’s men’s basketball honors for the 2025-26 season. The selections were made by the conference’s 13 head coaches.
South Florida, the No. 1 seed for the 2026 American Men’s Basketball Championship, earned four awards. Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson was named the conference’s Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year, while head coach Bryan Hodgson was named Coach of the Year in his first season.
Florida Atlantic came away with two awards as freshman guard Josiah Parker was named Freshman of the Year and redshirt sophomore guard Devin Vanterpool was named Most Improved Player.
Wichita State’s redshirt junior center Will Berg was named Sixth Man of the Year, while Tulane’s senior guard Asher Woods earned the Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award.
Nelson becomes the first player in American history to be named Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year. He is the second player to be named both Player and Defensive Player of the Year (Gary Clark, Cincinnati, 2017-18). Nelson averaged 15.8 points in conference play while leading the league in field goal percentage (.564) and rebounds (9.8 per game). He added 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game defensively.
Parker is the second straight Owl to be named Freshman of the Year. Parker averaged 12.2 points per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the floor. He scored in double figures in 11 conference games, including a career-high 25 points at Rice (Feb. 11).
Vanterpool is the second Owl to earn Most Improved Player, joining Tre Carroll from a season ago. Vanterpool averaged 15.8 points per game this season after scoring just 2.0 points per game a season ago. He added 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Berg becomes the second Shocker to be named Sixth Man of the Year, joining Ricky Council IV (2021-22). Berg finished fourth in rebounding in the American with 8.2 per game. He added 8.7 points per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor.
Woods was honored with the Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award for best exemplifying the qualities of sportsmanship, fair play, and leadership. In addition to his on-court accomplishments, Woods also gives back to the community in his hometown of Atlanta as well as in New Orleans. In Atlanta, he sponsors and coaches a girls’ AAU basketball team, supporting their development and coaching them in tournaments nationwide during breaks from Tulane. In New Orleans, he volunteers at the Hope Lodge cancer facility, where he helps distribute meals and spends time connecting with patients.
Hodgson was named the American Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm of South Florida. He is the second South Florida coach to earn the honor, joining Amir Abdur-Rahim (2023-24). Hodgson led the Bulls to the No. 1 seed and an outright American regular-season championship, finishing the season with an overall record of 23-8 and a conference mark of 15-3.
South Florida earned two first-team all-conference selections with Wes Enis and Nelson, who was the lone unanimous selection. Additionally, East Carolina’s Jordan Riley, Tulsa’s David Green, and Wichita State’s Kenyon Giles were named to the first team.
On the second team were UAB’s Chance Westry, North Texas’ Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr., Tulane’s Rowan Brumbaugh, and Tulsa teammates Miles Barnstable and Tylen Riley.
Charlotte’s Dezayne Mingo, Florida Atlantic’s Devin Vanterpool, South Florida’s Joe Pinion, Temple’s Derrian Ford, and Wichita State’s Karon Boyd highlighted the all-conference third team.
2026 American Conference Men’s Basketball Honors
Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida*
Defensive Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Freshman of the Year
Josiah Parker, Fr., G, Florida Atlantic*
Newcomer of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Most Improved Player
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Sixth Man of the Year
Will Berg, R-Jr., C, Wichita State
Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award
Asher Woods, Sr., G, Tulane
Coach of the Year
Bryan Hodgson, South Florida
First Team All-Conference
Jordan Riley, Sr., G, East Carolina
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB
Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Rowan Brumbaugh, Jr., G, Tulane
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Third Team All-Conference
Dezayne Mingo, Sr., G, Charlotte
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Karon Boyd, Sr., F, Wichita State
All-Newcomer Team
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB*
Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida*
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Miles Barnstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State*
*denotes unanimous selection