NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis and JaCorey Williams were voted the Men’s College Basketball Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for the 2016-17 season, announced this week by the organization.
Davis led Middle Tennessee to a school-record 31 victories, winning regular season and conference tournament championships in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders upset Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first school in NCAA Tournament history to win back-to-back first-round games against Power Five schools as a 12-seed or higher.
Middle Tennessee set a conference record with 17 league wins in 2016-17 and joined Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis as the only programs in C-USA history to win 30-plus games in a season. Davis earned Conference USA Coach of the Year and NABC District Coach of the Year honors and was voted Sports Person of the Year by the Daily News Journal.
Williams posted 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for the Blue Raiders, collecting 11 double-doubles and falling just two points shy (621) of the school single-season record. He led the club in points, rebounds and field goal percentage (.533), earning Conference USA Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors as well as First Team All-Conference accolades.
The Birmingham, Ala., native was also received First Team All-District recognition from the NABC and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Conference USA Championships, helping Middle Tennessee to its second straight league tournament title, averaging 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in three games in the tourney. He also was the first Blue Raider in 20 seasons to log three consecutive double-doubles, doing so twice during the season.