By The AAC postseason awards have been announced, and to no one’s surprise, the South Florida Bulls swept the two big awards.
Izaiyah Nelson made history, winning three awards in the AAC.
Nelson was named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year; both awards were given unanimously to Nelson by the voters.
Nelson was also named newcomer of the year, and is the first player in conference history to sweep the three awards.
Nelson averaged 15.8 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game and ranked sixth in the NCAA with 18 double-doubles.
In addition, head coach Bryan Hodgson was named American Conference Coach of the Year, completing the second-best regular season in USF History with a 23-8 record.
Hodgson guided the Bulls to the regular-season AAC crown, tying the record for most wins in a season with 23, set in 2023-24.
Junior guard Wes Enis also made the all-conference team along with Nelson. Enis joined his teammate as a unanimous All-Newcomer team selection.
Enis, along with Joe Pinion, set a new program record for three-point shots made in a season, each making 100 three-pointers, eclipsing Tyler Harris’s 97 set in the 2022-23 season.
Enis and Pinion also helped USF to a record 300-point field goals made in a season.
This is just the second time in program history that two South Florida players have earned first-team all-conference honors in the same season.
Nelson is in elite company, as he is just the second player in conference history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Honors.
Nelson joins Gary Clark of Cincinnati, who accomplished that feat during the 2017-18 season.
Joe Pinion earned third-team All-Conference honors and an All-Newcomer team selection.
These Bulls also set a record with nine road wins this season.
When Hodgson was introduced as coach, he told the media they would win a conference championship.
Not many thought it would happen this season, but as the season began to unfold and the Bulls started racking up impressive wins, I thought, “Maybe this is possible.”
USF also eclipsed the previous scoring record of 83.8 points per game, as this version of the Bulls averaged 88.4 points per game.
USF also broke the conference record for most 100-point games in a season with six, as the Bulls were involved in three of the four highest scoring games in program history.
South Florida is peaking at exactly the right time, riding a nine-game winning streak, and is the winner of 12 out of their last 13.
USF is also the tournament’s number one seed and has a bye to the semi-final round on Saturday Afternoon.
Coach Bryan Hodgson continues to heap praise on this year’s USF team. “This is the most selfless, driven group of men that I’ve ever coached. And I’ve been a part of some damn good teams, but this one is different.”
USF still has unfinished business to take care of, and that will start Saturday afternoon in Birmingham.
