Edey Repeats as Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Zach Edey continued to add to his already-overflowing trophy case, being named the Big Ten’s Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, the league office announced Thursday morning.
Edey was joined by Iowa women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark as recipients of the award. The duo swept the awards for the second straight year.
Edey becomes just the second repeat winner on the men’s side, joining Ohio State wrestler Kyle Snyder (2017, 2018) as the only repeat winners in the 43-year history of the award. Edey’s honor is the fourth won by a Boilermaker (Edey – 2023; David Boudia – 2011; Glenn Robinson – 1994).
Purdue and Michigan State are the only teams to have at least two men’s basketball student-athletes earn the honor. Purdue’s three men’s basketball honors are the most in the league.
Last night, Edey became Purdue’s second NBA Draft lottery pick in the last three years when he was selected ninth by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was the first Big Ten player selected in last night’s Draft.
Edey’s ascent into college basketball’s hierarchy has been well-documented. Having just completed his seventh season of competitive basketball, Edey was a standout baseball and hockey prospect growing up in Toronto, before turning to basketball prior to his sophomore campaign. He transferred to IMG Academy (Fla.) where he was ranked as the No. 436 prospect in the Class of 2020. He committed to Purdue in October 2019 and became one of the top college players in NCAA history.
He won all six National Player of the Year Awards in both 2023 and 2024, becoming the first player since the late Bill Walton in 1972 and 1973 to sweep all National Player of the Year awards in back-to-back seasons. He technically became the sixth two-time National Player of the Year, joining Ralph Sampson (1981, 1982, 1983), Bill Walton (1971, 1972, 1973), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967, 1969), Jerry Lucas (1961, 1962) and Oscar Robertson (1958, 1959, 1960) as multiple NPOY recipients.
Simply put, Edey had a season and career for the ages and will go down as one of the greatest college basketball players in NCAA history. As a senior, he led Purdue to a 34-5 record and a spot in the National Championship game for the first time in 55 years. He averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the free throw line.
In the NCAA Tournament, he was even better, averaging 29.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 assists while shooting 64.1 percent from the field. He finished the tournament with 177 points, the third most in NCAA Tournament history, while playing all but four minutes in the last four games of the tournament. In fact, only three players in NCAA Tournament history have scored 150 points with 60 rebounds in the same tournament (Edey, Elvin Hayes, Jerry West) and Edey had 177 points and 87 rebounds.
His 37 points in the National Championship game were tied for the third most in a title game in NCAA history.
The performance capped off one of the most-dominant seasons in history. He scored 983 points with 474 rebounds, joining Houston’s Elvin Hayes (1968) as the only players in NCAA history to reach those marks in a season in NCAA history. He finished the year by scoring at least 20 points with 10 rebounds in nine straight games, while posting 16 straight games of 20 or more points to end his career. He finished the season with ten 30-10 games, the most for a player since Kansas State’s Michael Beasley in 2007-08 (13).
His 983 points and 474 rebounds in a season are both second in Big Ten history in both categories.
Edey’s senior season was the icing on the cake of a career that will be considered one of the best in college basketball history. He finished his career with 2,516 points and 1,321 rebounds – one of six players in history to reach those marks and the first since 1990 (Lionel Simmons, 1987-90; Michael Brooks, Elvin Hayes, Oscar Robertson, Dickie Hemric).
He finished his career third in Big Ten history in scoring and second in rebounding.
Edey will likely play in NBA Summer League contests starting in the next couple of weeks. Schedules will be announced soon.