Associated Press names Oscar Tshiebwe 2022 men's college basketball Player of the Year

The end of the college basketball season is nearly here almost here and that means plenty of hardware to be handed out among players across the country. Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe put together a historically dominant season in the 2021-2022 season and as expected, media outlets are rewarding him for it. On Friday afternoon, the Associated Press announced in a press release that Oscar Tshiebwe won the 2022 men’s college basketball Player of the Year award. He became only the second player in Kentucky Wildcat basketball history to win the AP’s top honor. The other player was Anthony Davis.

Oscar Tshiebwe put up historic numbers this season

Earlier this season, Tshiebwe became the only SEC player over the last 25 seasons with five 20/15 games in a season.

Against Western Kentucky on Dec. 22, Tshiebwe corralled 28 rebounds. He followed that game up with a 20-rebound performance against Missouri on Dec. 29. His 48 rebounds in that two-game span were tied for the most by a D-I player over the last 25 seasons.

For the season, Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per game and ended the year with 21 straight double-doubles. He was also a Consensus All-American and the SEC Player of the Year this season.

Tshiebwe is also a finalist for the men’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award–which will be awarded on April 3 during the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tshiebwe was a clear-cut top choice for the AP men’s college basketball Player of the Year–edging out Johnny Davis of Wisconsin by 36 votes.

According to the 2019 On3 Consensus Rankings, the Congolese big man was rated as the No. 6 center in America. Tshiebwe was also rated as the No. 32 player in the country, according to the same rankings. This season, he showed analysts and scouts across the country exactly why he was so highly thought of coming out of Kennedy Catholic (Hermitage, Pennsylvania).

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.