• All-Time OVC Male Athlete of the Year Award Winners
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Austin Peay senior forward
Terry Taylor has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2020-21 in voting by the league’s athletics directors and communications directors.
The Female Athlete of the Year will be announced on Friday.
Taylor capped off a fantastic career that say him one of just five players in OVC history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career (he is one of just 120 players in NCAA Division I history to achieve that feat). Taylor earned his second-straight OVC Player of the Year honor after averaging 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, making him the only player nationally to rank in the Top 10 in both categories (seventh in rebounding and eighth in scoring). It marked the second-straight year he had averaged greater than 20 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Taylor also led all Division I players in offensive rebounding (5.15/game) and double-doubles (20) and was one of just two players nationally to lead their conference in each scoring and rebounding.
Taylor also was named first-team All-OVC for the fourth-straight season, making him only the third player in league history to achieve that feat. In addition to leading the OVC in scoring and rebounding, he also posted top-10 rankings in offensive rebounds, minutes played, defensive rebounds, free-throw percentage and blocked shots.
Taylor earned or shared five OVC Player of the Week honors over his final season; he ended his career with 17 OVC Player of the Week honors, two more than any other player in OVC history. He was named both National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District honors, his fourth-straight from the NABC and second in a row from the USBWA. He also earned a third-straight Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American honor.
He concluded his career as Austin Peay’s all-time leader in scoring (2,507 points), field goals made (967) and field goals attempted (1,804). He is also among the program's top-10 in rebounding, free-throws made, free-throws attempted, blocked shots and three-pointers attempted. He also became the first player in program history with four straight seasons of 500 or more points.
Taylor is the third different Austin Peay student-athlete to be named OVC Male Athlete of the Year, joining former basketball players Trenton Hassell (2000-01) and Bubba Wells (who won back-to-back awards in 1995-96 and 1996-97).
Other male nominees for the award included Belmont senior golfer
Evan Davis, Eastern Illinois freshman track and field athlete
Adam Swanson, Eastern Kentucky cross country/track and field athlete
Ahmed Jaziri, Jacksonville State sophomore safety
Nicario Harper, Morehead State freshman basketball player
Johni Broome, Murray State sophomore rifle athlete
Matias Kiuru, Southeast Missouri junior shortstop
Tyler Wilber, Tennessee State senior track and field athlete
R'Lazon Brumfield, Tennessee Tech sophomore tennis player
Carlos Vicente and UT Martin senior distance runner
Ryan Ford.
The OVC first awarded a Male Athlete of the Year award in 1977.