Gray led the conference and NCAA in steals at 3.3 per game to earn the reputation of being the top defensive standout. Howell leads the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.9 and is third in steals at 2.2 per contest. The two were catalysts in UC San Diego’s defense that led The Big West in scoring defense (62.0) and turnovers forced (16.3). Gray and Howell are the first Tritons to be named Best Defensive Player and Best Hustle Player, respectively. 
 
Rochelin came off the bench for the Tritons, playing in all 32 games, averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per outing. Rochelin is the second consecutive Triton to win Best Sixth Player after Tyler McGhie earned the accolade last season.
 
Dixon started 22 of 32 games for UC Irvine, logging 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest. With the rookie’s help, the Anteaters went 27-5 overall and finished second in the conference with a 17-3 record. Dixon is the seventh Anteater to win Freshman of the Year and first since Dawson Baker in 2020-21.
 
Jones averaged a league fourth-best 19.1 points 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The CSUB guard has had several offensive outbursts this season including a 45-point performance against CSUN and a 37-point effort including the game-winning buzzer beater at Long Beach State. Jones is the first Roadrunner to win Newcomer of the Year.
 
The league’s head coaches also voted for two all-conference teams. Joining Tait-Jones on the 2024-25 All-Big West First Team are UC Riverside redshirt sophomore guard Barrington Hargress, UC Davis senior guard TY Johnson, CSUN senior forward Keonte Jones, UC Irvine senior center Bent Leuchten and UC San Diego senior guard/forward Tyler McGhie. The second team features Gray, Jemel Jones, CSUN sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr., UC Santa Barbara graduate guard Stephan Swenson and UC Irvine redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis. Johnson was an All-Big West second-team members last year, while Hargress, McGhie and Tait-Jones were honorable mention.
 
Johnson finished the regular-season atop the conference’s scoring leaderboard at 21.2 points to go along with 2.7 assists and a league second-best 2.3 steals per game. Hargress was second behind Johnson in scoring at 20.6 points and was fourth in the league with 4.0 assists per game. Keonte Jones topped the conference in rebounds at 9.1 boards, to go along with a conference third-best 4.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Leuchten led The Big West with 16 double-doubles, averaging 15.4 points, on .546 shooting from the floor and .472 from behind the arc, and 9.1 rebounds per contest. McGhie made the most 3-pointers in the league with 111 (3.5 per game) and averages 16.7 points per game.
 
Along with a defensive prowess, Gray was also stellar on offense averaging 10.9 points and 3.4 assists per contest. Marcus Adams Jr. was the top scorer for the Matadors at 16.5 points, shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep, with 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Tillis was the third-leading rebounder in the league behind Leuchten and Keonte Jones at 7.6 boards to go along with 13.1 points per contest at a 53.5 percent clip. Swenson logged 13.0 points, shooting a league second-best 45.1 percent from deep, with 3.6 rebounds and a conference second-most 4.4 assists per game.
 
The 2025 Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by Credit Union 1 begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night, March 12, from Lee’s Family Forum 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.
 

2024-25 Big West Men's Basketball All-Conference Team & Awards
Player of the Year	Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UC San Diego
Newcomer of the Year	Jemel Jones, Cal State Bakersfield
Freshman of the Year	Jurian Dixon, UC Irvine
Coach of the Year	Eric Olen, UC San Diego
Specialty Awards
Best Defensive Player	Hayden Gray, UC San Diego
Best Hustle Player	Chris Howell, UC San Diego
Best Sixth Player	Justin Rochelin, UC San Diego
All-Big West First Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Barrington Hargress	R-So.	G	UC Riverside	Inglewood, Calif.
TY Johnson	Sr.	G	UC Davis	Chicago, Ill.
Keonte Jones	Sr.	F	CSUN	Madison, Wis.
Bent Leuchten	Sr.	C	UC Irvine	Karlsfeld, Germany
Tyler McGhie	Sr.	G/F	UC San Diego	Denton, Texas
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Sr.	G/F	UC San Diego	Wellington, New Zealand
All-Big West Second Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Marcus Adams Jr.	So.	F	CSUN	Torrance, Calif.
Hayden Gray	Sr.	G	UC San Diego	San Diego, Calif.
Jemel Jones	Jr.	G	Cal State Bakersfield	Chicago, Ill.
Stephan Swenson	Gr.	G	UC Santa Barbara	Brussels, Belgium
Devin Tillis	R-Sr.	F	UC Irvine	Los Angeles, Calif.
Honorable Mention: Cole Anderson (UC Santa Barbara), Devin Askew (Long Beach State), Myles Che (UC Irvine), Tanner Christensen (Hawai’i), Justin Hohn (UC Irvine), Owen Koonce (Cal Poly), Kenny Pohto (UC Santa Barbara), Isaiah Moses (UC Riverside), Scotty Washington (CSUN).