• 2023-24 All-OVC Men's Basketball Teams and Award Winners (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Morehead State graduate forward
Riley Minix was named the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, Little Rock's
Darrell Walker earned OVC Coach of the Year honors and the Trojans forward
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson was tabbed OVC Freshman of the Year while Western Illinois center
Drew Cisse earned OVC Defensive Player of the Year honors in voting by league head coaches and communications directors.
Minix made an immediate impact for the Eagles after transferring from Southeastern (Fla.) University. The graduate student led the OVC with 18 double-doubles (which ranks sixth nationally), including one in each of his last nine games to end the regular season as MSU finished the year with a 14-4 record to earn a share of its second-straight and 11th overall OVC Championship. Minix ranked second in the OVC in scoring (20.5 points/game), rebounding (9.9/game) and field goal percentage (55.0%), fourth in free throw percentage (83.7%), eighth in blocks (1.06/game and ninth in steals (1.26/game). Nationally, his scoring average ranks 25th nationally while his rebounding average is 19th. In Conference games he was even better, leading the OVC in scoring (22.9/game), rebounding (10.6/game) and field goal percentage (59.9%). He scored in double figures in all but one game during the season, including tallying a season-best 34 points at Southeast Missouri (one of three games he had 30 or more in a game). Minix had a season-best 19 rebounds in a victory over Tennessee Tech. Entering the postseason he has scored 634 points this season, the ninth best single-season mark in program history; he is the 10th player in MSU history to score 600-plus points in a year. Minix is the seventh overall Eagle to be named OVC Player of the Year and second in as many seasons.
After Little Rock finished in a tie for eighth place and missed the OVC Tournament in Little Rock's first year in the OVC, Walker, now in his sixth year with the program, regrouped the Trojans and led them to a share of the 2023-24 OVC Regular Season Championship and No. 1 seed for the OVC Tournament. Little Rock won its final nine regular season games of the season (and 12 of 13 overall) to claim its first Conference title since 2019-20. In League games, Little Rock ranked first in field goal percentage (49.8%), field goal defense (39.9%), assists (15.5/game) and blocked shots (5.39/game), second in scoring (77.3 points/game), scoring margin (+9.89 points/game) and third in scoring defense (67.4 points/game allowed), 3-point percentage (35.4%) and rebounding margin (+7.28/game).
Crocker-Johnson was a key part of a balanced Little Rock team that finished the year 14-4 in OVC play to earn a share of its first OVC regular season championship. The freshman was one of six Trojans players to average at least 9.1 points/game. The forward started 30 of 31 games and added 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.8 blocks/game while hitting 50.9 percent from the field while averaging 23 minutes per game. Crocker-Johnson had a season-high 16 points at Tennessee State and netted three double-doubles, including a 13-point, 15-rebounds performance against in-state foe Central Arkansas. He was named OVC Freshman of the Week nine times during the year.
Cisse joined the Western Illinois team in its first year in the OVC and was dominant on the glass and in blocking shots. The senior tallied 343 rebounds (third nationally) and 62 blocks (22nd nationally) during the regular season. His play helped Western Illinois rank second in the OVC in scoring defense (65.4 points), field goal defense (40.4%) and 3-point percentage defense (29.6%), as the Leathernecks finished the team 13-5 in OVC play and earn the No. 4 seed for the OVC Tournament. Nationally, Cisse ranks third nationally in offensive rebounds (4.35/game), sixth in total rebounds/game (11.1) and 32nd in blocks/game (2.0). Cisse had 17 double-digit rebounding games including a season-high 20 against South Dakota, a mark that ranks 13th nationally. He added a season-high six blocks against Southeast Missouri and had 18 games with at least two blocks during the season.
ALL-OVC TEAMS
This year's first and second-team All-OVC squads included 15 players from nine different OVC schools. Little Rock and UT Martin led the way with three total selections while Morehead State and Western Illinois had two picks apiece. The first and second-teams included four graduate students, six seniors and five juniors.
Minix, the OVC Player of the Year, was the top vote getter and highlighted the 10-person All-OVC first-team. He was joined by Cisse, the Defensive Player of the Year. UT Martin junior guard
Jordan Sears was the only repeat first-team selection; this season he averaged a league-best 21.2 points/game to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists/game while knocking down 74 3-pointers.
SIUE guard
Damarco Minor (15.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg), who was an All-Newcomer selection last year, made the jump to the first-team this season while Southern Indiana guard
Jeremiah Hernandez (17.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg) was the only other returning player who competed in the OVC last season. The remainder of the first-team was made up of newcomers in UT Martin junior guard/forward
Jacob Crews (19.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 88 3-pointers made), Little Rock senior guard
KK Robinson (15.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.3 apg) and graduate guard
Jamir Chaplin (14.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Morehead State graduate guard
Jordan Lathon (15.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Eastern Illinois senior guard
Tiger Booker (16.1 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.7 rpg, 2.1 spg).
The All-OVC second-team included Lindenwood senior forward
Keenon Cole, a repeat selection from last year; Cole averaged 18.1 points and 6.2 rebounds/game this season. The team also included Little Rock forward
Makhel Mitchell (9.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.4 bpg), Western Illinois guard
Ryan Myers (13.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 77 made 3-pointers), UT Martin forward
Issa Muhammad (11.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and Tennessee State guard
Christian Brown (12.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg).
Each of the five All-Newcomer Team selections were first-team All-OVC picks as well and included Morehead State's Minix and Lathon, Little Rock's Chaplin and Robinson and UT Martin's Crews.
2023-24 All-OVC Teams and Award Winners
OVC Player of the Year: Riley Minix, Morehead State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Drew Cisse, Western Illinois
OVC Freshman of the Year: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Little Rock
OVC Coach of the Year: Darrell Walker, Little Rock
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
Riley Minix, Morehead State
Jordan Sears, UT Martin
Jacob Crews, UT Martin
KK Robinson, Little Rock
Jamir Chaplin, Little Rock
Jordan Lathon, Morehead State
Damarco Minor, SIUE
Tiger Booker, Eastern Illinois
Jeremiah Hernandez, Southern Indiana
Drew Cisse, Western Illinois
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
Keenon Cole, Lindenwood
Makhel Mitchell, Little Rock
Ryan Myers, Western Illinois
Issa Muhammad, UT Martin
Christian Brown, Tennessee State
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Riley Minix, Morehead State
Jacob Crews, UT Martin
Jamir Chaplin, Little Rock
KK Robinson, Little Rock
Jordan Lathon, Morehead State