Player of the Year – Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Defensive Player of the Year – Jaylen Clark, UCLA
Freshman of the Year – Adem Bona, UCLA
Most Improved Player of the Year – Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Sixth Player of the Year – Reese Dixon-Waters, USC
John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year – Mick Cronin, UCLA
SAN FRANCISCO — After a runaway regular-season title campaign, UCLA won four of the top six Pac-12 men’s basketball awards in a vote by the 12 conference coaches led by Jaime Jaquez Jr. as the 2022-23 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. The Bruins saw it too Jaylen Clark named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Adam Bona the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year and Mike Cronin the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Trainer of the Year. ARIZONA had the Pac-12 Most Improved Player for the second year in a row Omar Ballo‘s selection and USC’s Reese Dixon-Waters was voted sixth player of the year.
The 2023 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 8-11 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. Fans can follow coverage of the event throughout the week at pac12.me/23MBBT.
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Sr., G/F, Camarillo, California)
The National Player of the Year nominee becomes the seventh UCLA player to win the conference’s Player of the Year award (eighth overall) after leading the Bruins to a record 18 league wins and the all-time Pac-12 title four-game regular season, the widest span since 2004.
The 6-7 wing is fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.5 ppg), fourth in steals (1.52 ppg) and fifth in rebounds (8.0 rpg) – and is trying to be only sixth player who finishes in the top 5 in the conference in those three categories (Tres Tinkle, Landry Fields, Sam Clancy, Adam Keefe, Derrick Dowell). Additionally, he trails only teammate and national leader Jaylen Clark in defensive win shares (2.8), according to College Basketball Reference.
Jaquez Jr. is UCLA’s first Conference Player of the Year since Kevin Love in 2008 and the Bruins’ first senior since Ed O’Bannon in 1995.
PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Jaylen Clark, UCLA (Jr., G, Riverside, California)
Clark, who is among the top 10 national semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year, is the third UCLA player to win the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, following Russell Westbrook (2008) and Nigel Miguel (1985). received.
He currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks fifth nationally with 2.6 steals per game. That would be the highest league average since Naismith Defensive Player of the Year 2019, Matisse Thybulle’s national-leading 3.5.
According to College Basketball Reference, Clark currently leads the NCAA Division I in defensive win shares (2.8) and defensive box plus/minus (6.7) and is fourth in defensive rating (85.0) — the only player in the country in the top 5 in three categories.
PAC-12 RETIER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Adem Bona, UCLA (F, Ebonyi, Nigeria)
Bona is UCLA’s 10th all-time recipient with the Freshman of the Year award, tied with Arizona for the most programs in league history.
The 6-10 forward ranks second overall in the league in field goal percentage (.667) and fifth in blocked shots (1.67 bpg).
Among the freshmen, Bona leads in blocks, field goal percentage and rebounds (5.3 rpg) and ranks fifth in the score (7.8 ppg).
PAC-12 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Oumar Ballo, ARIZONA (R-Jr., C, Koulikoro, Mali)
Ballo becomes the second straight recipient of Most Improved Player from Arizona, along with Christian Koloko in 2022.
Ballo played behind Koloko last season and averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. This year, Ballo has more than doubled his score (13.9 ppg) and increased his rebounds (8.6 rpg) in 28 minutes per game while starting all 31 games.
PAC-12 SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Reese Dixon-Waters, USC (Sun., G, Long Beach, California)
Dixon-Waters came off the bench 15 times in 16 league games played, averaging 9.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in just over 25 minutes per game in those competitions.
USC’s third-top scorer started in the first seven games as the Trojans opened the season 4-3, then came off the bench for 23 straight games to push the Trojans to a 17-6 mark.
He is the second USC player to receive this award, having joined Glenn Smith in 1985.
To be eligible, players must not exceed one-third of starts in league games played.
JOHN R. WOOD PAC-12 TRAINER OF THE YEAR
Mick Cronin, UCLA
Cronin earns his second John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year award (2019-20), becoming the first UCLA mentor to receive multiple awards named after the Bruins legend.
The Naismith Trophy National Coach of the Year nominee has led the Bruins to a 27-4 aggregate record, a record 18 league wins and the program’s first conference title since 2013 by four games, the league’s widest margin since 2004.
This is only the second time in Conference history that a school has won Player, Freshman, Defensive Player, and Coach of the Year honors in the same season (USC, 2021).
THE OPTIONAL: Coaches vote for Coach of the Year, All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Defensive Teams, Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year. Coaches are not allowed to vote for themselves or their own players for the awards.
The complete all-conference teams:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Jaime Jaquez Jr., Sr., G/F, UCLA
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Jaylen Clark, Jr., G, UCLA
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Adem Bona, F, UCLA
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Oumar Ballo, R-Jr., C, ARIZONA
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
Reese Dixon-Waters, So., G, USC
JOHN R. WOOD COACH OF THE YEAR
Mick Cronin, UCLA
ALL PAC 12 TEAM
FIRST TEAM
| SURNAME | SCHOOL | position | Year. | HOMEPLACE |
| Omar Ballo | Arizona | C | R Jr. | Koulikoro, Mali |
| Tyger Campbell*** | UCLA | G | R Jr. | Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Brand Carlson | Utah | C | sir | Southern Jordan, Utah |
| N’Faly Dante | Oregon | C | sir | Bamako, Mali |
| Tristan da Silva | Colorado | f | jr | Munich, Germany |
| Boogie Ellis | U.S.C | G | sir | San Diego, California |
| Mohamed Gueye | Washington | f | So. | Dakar, Senegal |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr** | UCLA | G/F | sir | Camarillo, California |
| Drew Peterson** | U.S.C | G | 5. | Libertyville, Illinois. |
| Ąžuolas Tubelis** | Arizona | f | jr | Vilnius, Lithuania |
SECOND TEAM
| SURNAME | SCHOOL | position | Year. | HOMEPLACE |
| Keion Brooks Jr. | Washington | f | sir | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| Desmond Cambridge Jr. | State of Arizona | G | 5. | Nashville, Tennessee. |
| Jaylen Clark | UCLA | G | jr | Riverside, California |
| Spencer Jones | Stanford | f | sir | Roeland Park, Kan. |
| KJ Simpson | Colorado | G | So. | West Hills, California |
VALUABLE MENTION (received at least three votes): TJ Bamba, WSU; Adam Bona, UCLA; Courtney Ramey, ARIZ; Will Richardson, ORE.
* denotes the number of All-Pac-12 First Team honors
PAC-12 ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
| SURNAME | SCHOOL | position | HOMEPLACE |
| Amari Bailey | UCLA | G | Chicago, Illinois. |
| Adam Bona | UCLA | f | Ebony, Nigeria |
| Keyon Menifield | Washington | G | Feuerstein, Mich. |
| Pope Jordan | Oregon State | G | Oakley, California |
| Tre White | U.S.C | G | Dallas, Texas |
VALUABLE MENTION (received at least three votes): Kylan Boswell, ARIZ; Grant Newell, CAL.
PAC-12 ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
| SURNAME | SCHOOL | position | Year. | HOMEPLACE |
| Adam Bona | UCLA | f | Mrs. | Ebony, Nigeria |
| Jaylen Clark** | UCLA | G | jr | Riverside, California |
| KobeJohnson | U.S.C | G | So. | Milwaukee, Wisc. |
| Braxton Meah | Washington | C | jr | Fresno, California |
| Joshua Morgan | U.S.C | f | R Jr. | Sacramento, California |
VALUABLE MENTION (received at least three votes): Marco Anthony, Utah; Oumar Ballo, ARIZ; Mouhamed Gueye, WSU; Warren Washington, ASU.
* denotes the number of all-defensive team honors