NCAA Division I basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player

The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. The award is also often referred to as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, referencing the conclusion of the Final Four semifinals and championship games.^[1] Accredited media members at the championship game vote on the award.

NCAA Division I basketball tournament
Most Outstanding Player

Awarded for	the MVP of the Final Four of the NCAA Division I men's and women's national basketball tournaments
Country	United States
History
First award	1939 (men) 1982 (women)
Most recent	Walter Clayton Jr., Florida (men) Azzi Fudd, UConn (women)

The players that win the award are predominantly members of the championship team. However, ten men and one woman have won it as players on the losing squad. On the men's side, Houston's Akeem Olajuwon^[a] was the last to do so in 1983, while Virginia's Dawn Staley was the only woman to do so, in 1991.^[1]

One player's award has been officially vacated (not recognized) by the NCAA, while another player's was vacated but later restored. In 1971, Howard Porter won the award despite Villanova losing to UCLA in the championship game.^[2] Villanova later vacated their entire season.^[2] Meanwhile, Luke Hancock had his MOP award stripped when the NCAA vacated Louisville's 2013 national championship.^[3] His award was restored in 2019 when a lawsuit brought against the NCAA was settled, clearing his name of any wrongdoing in the team scandal.^[3]

Key

*	Awarded a national player of the year award: Men – Sporting News; Oscar Robertson Trophy; Associated Press; NABC; UPI; Naismith; Wooden; Adolph Rupp Trophy; Helms Women – Wade; Associated Press; Naismith; Wooden; WBCA
#	Team lost the championship game
Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the MOP at that point
Italics	Award officially vacated by NCAA

Winners

Jimmy Hull, Ohio State, 1939

Butch Lee, Marquette, 1977

Cheryl Miller, USC, 1983 and 1984

Bobby Hurley, Duke, 1991

Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, 2001

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina, 2009

Breanna Stewart, UConn, 2013 through 2016

Walter Clayton Jr., Florida, 2025

Azzi Fudd, UConn, 2025

Men Year Tournament Player School Position Class Reference 1938–39 1939 Jimmy Hull Ohio State# F Senior [1] 1939–40 1940 Marv Huffman Indiana F Senior [4] 1940–41 1941 John Kotz Wisconsin F Senior [5] 1941–42 1942 Howie Dallmar Stanford F Sophomore [6] 1942–43 1943 Ken Sailors Wyoming PG Junior [7] 1943–44 1944 Arnie Ferrin Utah SF / SG Freshman [8] 1944–45 1945 Bob Kurland Oklahoma State C Junior [9] 1945–46 1946 Bob Kurland* (2) Oklahoma State C Senior [9] 1946–47 1947 George Kaftan Holy Cross SF Sophomore [10] 1947–48 1948 Alex Groza Kentucky C Junior [11] 1948–49 1949 Alex Groza (2) Kentucky C Senior [11] 1949–50 1950 Irwin Dambrot CCNY F Senior [12] 1950–51 1951 No winner selected[b] 1951–52 1952 Clyde Lovellette* Kansas C Senior [13] 1952–53 1953 B. H. Born Kansas# C Junior [14] 1953–54 1954 Tom Gola* La Salle SF Junior [15] 1954–55 1955 Bill Russell* San Francisco C Junior [16] 1955–56 1956 Hal Lear Temple# PG Senior [17] 1956–57 1957 Wilt Chamberlain Kansas# C Sophomore [18] 1957–58 1958 Elgin Baylor* Seattle# SF Junior [19] 1958–59 1959 Jerry West West Virginia# PG Junior [20] 1959–60 1960 Jerry Lucas Ohio State PF Sophomore [21] 1960–61 1961 Jerry Lucas* (2) Ohio State# PF Junior [22] 1961–62 1962 Paul Hogue* Cincinnati C Senior [23] 1962–63 1963 Art Heyman* Duke# SF / SG Senior [24] 1963–64 1964 Walt Hazzard* UCLA PG / SG Senior [25] 1964–65 1965 Bill Bradley* Princeton# SF Senior [26] 1965–66 1966 Jerry Chambers Utah# SF Senior [27] 1966–67 1967 Lew Alcindor*[c] UCLA C Sophomore [28] 1967–68 1968 Lew Alcindor*[c] (2) UCLA C Junior [28] 1968–69 1969 Lew Alcindor*[c] (3) UCLA C Senior [28] 1969–70 1970 Sidney Wicks* UCLA PF Junior [29] 1970–71 1971 Howard Porter[d] Villanova#[d] PF / SF Senior [2] 1971–72 1972 Bill Walton* UCLA C Sophomore [30] 1972–73 1973 Bill Walton* (2) UCLA C Junior [31] 1973–74 1974 David Thompson NC State SG Junior [32] 1974–75 1975 Richard Washington UCLA PF / C Sophomore [33] 1975–76 1976 Kent Benson* Indiana C Junior [34] 1976–77 1977 Butch Lee Marquette PG Junior [35] 1977–78 1978 Jack Givens* Kentucky SG / SF Senior [36] 1978–79 1979 Magic Johnson Michigan State PG Sophomore [37] 1979–80 1980 Darrell Griffith* Louisville SG Senior [38] 1980–81 1981 Isiah Thomas Indiana PG Sophomore [39] 1981–82 1982 James Worthy North Carolina SF Junior [40] 1982–83 1983 Akeem Olajuwon*[a] Houston# C Sophomore [41] 1983–84 1984 Patrick Ewing Georgetown C Junior [42] 1984–85 1985 Ed Pinckney Villanova SF / PF Senior [43] 1985–86 1986 Pervis Ellison Louisville C Freshman [8] 1986–87 1987 Keith Smart Indiana PG Junior [44] 1987–88 1988 Danny Manning* Kansas PF Senior [45] 1988–89 1989 Glen Rice Michigan SF Senior [46] 1989–90 1990 Anderson Hunt UNLV SG Sophomore [47] 1990–91 1991 Christian Laettner Duke PF / C Junior [48] 1991–92 1992 Bobby Hurley Duke PG Junior [49] 1992–93 1993 Donald Williams North Carolina PG / SG Sophomore [50] 1993–94 1994 Corliss Williamson Arkansas PF Sophomore [51] 1994–95 1995 Ed O'Bannon* UCLA PF Senior [52] 1995–96 1996 Tony Delk Kentucky PG / SG Senior [53] 1996–97 1997 Miles Simon Arizona SG Junior [54] 1997–98 1998 Jeff Sheppard Kentucky PG / SG Senior [55] 1998–99 1999 Richard Hamilton UConn SG Junior [56] 1999–00 2000 Mateen Cleaves Michigan State PG Senior [57] 2000–01 2001 Shane Battier* Duke SF Senior [58] 2001–02 2002 Juan Dixon Maryland PG / SG Senior [59] 2002–03 2003 Carmelo Anthony Syracuse SF / PF Freshman [60] 2003–04 2004 Emeka Okafor*[e] UConn C Junior [61] 2004–05 2005 Sean May North Carolina PF Junior [62] 2005–06 2006 Joakim Noah Florida C Sophomore [63] 2006–07 2007 Corey Brewer Florida SF Junior [64] 2007–08 2008 Mario Chalmers Kansas PG Junior [65] 2008–09 2009 Wayne Ellington North Carolina SG Junior [66] 2009–10 2010 Kyle Singler Duke SF Junior [67] 2010–11 2011 Kemba Walker UConn PG Junior [68] 2011–12 2012 Anthony Davis* Kentucky C Freshman [69] 2012–13 2013 Luke Hancock[f] Louisville SF Junior [3] 2013–14 2014 Shabazz Napier UConn PG Senior [70] 2014–15 2015 Tyus Jones Duke PG Freshman [71] 2015–16 2016 Ryan Arcidiacono Villanova PG / SG Senior [72] 2016–17 2017 Joel Berry II North Carolina PG Junior [73] 2017–18 2018 Donte DiVincenzo Villanova SG Sophomore [74] 2018–19 2019 Kyle Guy Virginia SG Junior [75] 2019–20 2020 Tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[76] 2020–21 2021 Jared Butler Baylor PG Junior [77] 2021–22 2022 Ochai Agbaji Kansas SG Senior [78] 2022–23 2023 Adama Sanogo UConn PF Junior [79] 2023–24 2024 Tristen Newton UConn PG / SG Senior [80] 2024–25 2025 Walter Clayton Jr. Florida PG / SG Senior [81]

Women Year Tournament Player School Position Class Reference 1938–39 No NCAA tournament 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982 Janice Lawrence Louisiana Tech F Sophomore [82] 1982–83 1983 Cheryl Miller USC SF Freshman [83] 1983–84 1984 Cheryl Miller* (2) USC SF Sophomore [84] 1984–85 1985 Tracy Claxton Old Dominion F Senior [85] 1985–86 1986 Clarissa Davis Texas F Freshman [86] 1986–87 1987 Tonya Edwards Tennessee G Freshman [87] 1987–88 1988 Erica Westbrooks Louisiana Tech F Senior [88] 1988–89 1989 Bridgette Gordon Tennessee F Senior [89] 1989–90 1990 Jennifer Azzi* Stanford PG Senior [90] 1990–91 1991 Dawn Staley* Virginia# PG Junior [91] 1991–92 1992 Molly Goodenbour Stanford G Junior [92] 1992–93 1993 Sheryl Swoopes* Texas Tech SG / SF Senior [93] 1993–94 1994 Charlotte Smith North Carolina F Junior [94] 1994–95 1995 Rebecca Lobo* UConn C Senior [95] 1995–96 1996 Michelle Marciniak Tennessee PG Senior [96] 1996–97 1997 Chamique Holdsclaw Tennessee SF Sophomore [97] 1997–98 1998 Chamique Holdsclaw* (2) Tennessee SF Junior [98] 1998–99 1999 Ukari Figgs Purdue G Senior [99] 1999–00 2000 Shea Ralph UConn PG Junior [100] 2000–01 2001 Ruth Riley* Notre Dame PF / C Senior [101] 2001–02 2002 Swin Cash UConn SF Senior [102] 2002–03 2003 Diana Taurasi* UConn PG / SG Junior [103] 2003–04 2004 Diana Taurasi* (2) UConn PG / SG Senior [104] 2004–05 2005 Sophia Young Baylor SF Junior [105] 2005–06 2006 Laura Harper Maryland PF / C Sophomore [106] 2006–07 2007 Candace Parker* Tennessee PF Junior [107] 2007–08 2008 Candace Parker* (2) Tennessee PF Senior [108] 2008–09 2009 Tina Charles UConn C Junior [109] 2009–10 2010 Maya Moore* UConn PF Junior [110] 2010–11 2011 Danielle Adams Texas A&M PF / C Senior [111] 2011–12 2012 Brittney Griner* Baylor C Junior [112] 2012–13 2013 Breanna Stewart UConn PF Freshman [113] 2013–14 2014 Breanna Stewart* (2) UConn PF Sophomore [113] 2014–15 2015 Breanna Stewart* (3) UConn PF Junior [113] 2015–16 2016 Breanna Stewart* (4) UConn PF Senior [113] 2016–17 2017 A'ja Wilson South Carolina C Junior [114] 2017–18 2018 Arike Ogunbowale Notre Dame PG Junior [115] 2018–19 2019 Chloe Jackson Baylor G Senior [116] 2019–20 2020 Tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[76] 2020–21 2021 Haley Jones Stanford SG Sophomore [117] 2021–22 2022 Aliyah Boston* South Carolina PF / C Junior [118] 2022–23 2023 Angel Reese LSU PF Junior [119] 2023–24 2024 Kamilla Cardoso South Carolina C Senior [120] 2024–25 2025 Azzi Fudd UConn SG Senior [121]

• ^a Olajuwon later changed his first name's spelling from Akeem to Hakeem to use the original Arabic spelling.^[122]
• ^b Despite what some NCAA publications have printed many years later—that Kentucky's Bill Spivey won the 1951 award—no official vote occurred after the game and no player was officially presented as the winner.^[123][124] A news article printed by the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 7, 1951, titled "What Happened To NCAA's MVP Award?" detailed this mysterious divergence of precedent.^[125] Reporter Ed Ashford wrote, "For 11 consecutive years a most valuable player was chosen after the NCAA basketball tournament. However this year, for some unexplained reason, no poll was taken and there was no MVP honored. Whether the authorities just forgot about it or decided to eliminate balloting for the honor is not known. If a poll had been taken, it is likely that Kentucky would have garnered its third MVP award in the last four years. Alex Groza won the honor in 1948 and 1949 while Bill Spivey and Shelby Linville would have been strong contenders for the award this year."^[125]
• ^c Lew Alcindor later changed his named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.^[126]
• ^d Porter scored 25 points in a losing effort but was still named the MOP. However, he was later ruled ineligible for the honor because he had signed a professional contract with the ABA's Pittsburgh Condors during the middle of his senior year.^[2] The NCAA vacated both Porter's award and Villanova's entire season.^[2]
• ^e Okafor graduated as a finance major in only three years.^[127] He was a senior academically in 2003–04, but was still considered a junior as it related to his athletic eligibility.^[127]
• ^f Hancock had his MOP award stripped when the NCAA vacated Louisville's 2013 national championship.^[3] His award was restored in 2019 when a lawsuit brought against the NCAA was settled, clearing his name of any wrongdoing in the team scandal.^[3]

See also

• Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award – the equivalent award in NAIA men's basketball championships