Pepper started all 31 games and averaged a league-leading 20.5 points per game during the regular season to lead UC Davis to a third-place finish in The Big West with 14-6 conference record (19-12 overall). The senior guard also topped the league in three-pointers made per game (3.0) and free throw percentage (.923), and had 19 instances of scoring 20 points or more. Pepper is currently 75 points of becoming The Big West’s all-time leading scorer (Lucious Harris, LBSU, 2,312 points, 1989-93). The Selah, Wash. product joins the likes of TJ Shorts II (2017-18) and Corey Hawkins (2014-15) as Aggies who have won the conference’s top individual award.  
 
In an 11th year at the helm, fourth in The Big West, Olen has been voted by peers as Coach of the Year for the first time. UC San Diego was arguably The Big West’s biggest surprise this season. After being selected ninth in the preseason poll, the Tritons defied the conference’s expectations and finished in second with a 15-5 league record (21-11 overall). UC San Diego was also rewarded with the Newcomer of the Year in Tait-Jones. The junior forward started all 32 games and averaged 13.7 points, on 56.4 percent shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the Tritons.
 
Hargress took home top rookie honors after leading UC Riverside in points (12.4) and assists (4.5) in the regular season. The freshman guard from Inglewood, Calif. played in all 32 games, starting 28 of them, and committed only 1.5 turnovers a game on average for the best assist/turnover ratio in The Big West at 3.0.
 
Aboubacar Traore averages 11.9 points and 8.0 boards per game. Of no relation to Lassina Traore, the duo are 1-2 in The Big West on the glass. Aboubacar has played in all 32 games, started 27 of them, and leads the Beach with 4.1 assists and 1.5 blocks while sitting second in steals (1.7) and shoots .544 from the floor. Traore joins eight others who have won the award multiple times, including LBSU great Ron Johnson who earned the first two awards in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
 
After being ruled eligible in the middle of the season, McGhie came off the bench in all 22 overall games, including 20 in league play, for UC San Diego and logged 13.1 points per contest. The junior swingman from Denton, Texas was the top scorer among those eligible for the award and made an average of 3.0 3-pointers per game (second in the league) at a .407 clip from behind the arc.
 
Henry was the defensive catalyst for the UC Irvine team that won the regular season crown. The Anteaters led the league in scoring defense (67.3) and were second in defensive field-goal percentage (.406). Individually, Henry has totaled 25 steals and four blocks so far this season.
 
Joining Pepper on the 2023-24 All-Big West First Team are CSUN senior forward De’Sean Allen-Eikens, UC Irvine senior guard Pierre Crockrell II, UC Santa Barbara junior guard Ajay Mitchell, UC San Diego redshirt senior guard Bryce Pope and Aboubacar Traore. The Second Team features Cal State Bakersfield senior guard Kaleb Higgins, UC Irvine redshirt senior guard Justin Hohn, UC Davis junior guard Ty Johnson, Hawai’i graduate forward Justin McKoy and Lassina Traore. Another 13 were granted honorable mention honors, including Hargress, Henry, McGhie and Tait-Jones, as a total of 24 student-athletes were recognized.
 
Mitchell, Pepper and Lassina Traore were first-team members last season. Pope was a second-team selection last year, while Aboubacar Traore, Crockrell II and Johnson were honorable mention. Pepper is The Big West’s lone 20-point-scorer, putting up 20.5 points a night, with Mitchell third (19.4), Allen-Eikens fourth (18.5) and Pope fifth (18.4), Johnson seventh (17.6) and Higgins eighth (17.3). Crockrell II led the league in assists per game (6.3) and Lassina Traore was the best rebounder (10.4).
 
The Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night, March 13, from The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. All seven games will feature live video coverage across ESPN platforms, with Saturday’s final on primetime with a 6:30 p.m. PT tipoff and airing live on ESPN2. Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams will have the call for the finale.