University of Memphis Athletics
Hardaway, Haggerty Lead Men's Hoops' AAC Award Honorees
Mar 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
IRVING, Texas – After finishing the regular season ranked 16th in the country with a 26-5 overall record and the American Athletic Conference outright regular-season title in hand for the first time in program history, the University of Memphis men's basketball program received a multitude of postseason awards from the league office Tuesday. The official AAC awards are selected by the league's head coaches, and the coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Head Coach Penny Hardaway was named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time. Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty was named The American Player of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the First Team.
Senior forward Dain Dainja was named the Newcomer of the Year and earned a place on the All-AAC First Team and All-Newcomer Team as unanimous selections.
Senior guard Tyrese Hunter also landed a spot on the First Team and was selected to the All-Newcomer Team alongside Dainja.
It marks the second time in 13 years as AAC members that Memphis has had multiple players on the first team.
PENNY HARDAWAY | AAC COACH OF THE YEAR
Now in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach, Hardaway has led Memphis to its first AAC regular season crown, the program's most regular season wins in 13 years and its highest AP ranking in March since the 2008-09 season.
Hardaway earned the 150th win of his career on Feb. 13 at South Florida and guided the Tigers to a runner-up finish at the Maui Invitational in November with wins over then No. 2 UConn and Michigan State.
Despite owning a consensus top-3 toughest nonconference schedule in the country, Hardaway's Tigers own three wins over AP ranked teams, six against power conference opponents and 11 victories over Quad 1 and 2 teams.
In February, Hardaway was one of 15 head coaches across Division I to be named to the 2025 Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Watch List.
PJ HAGGERTY | PLAYER OF THE YEAR, FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC
After an electrifying season at Tulsa in 2023-24 that saw him win a national freshman of the year honor, Haggerty was widely considered one of the top transfers in the country and Hardaway wasted little time in getting him to Memphis. He has lived up to the preseason hype with an All-American caliber season.
He has been named a top-5 finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, a top-15 finalist for the Wooden Award, and landed on midseason watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy.
Haggerty ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 21.2 points per game, is fourth in free throws made (190) and seventh in free throws attempted (238).
He also stands among the AAC league's top-10 leaders in minutes per game (36.5, 1st), field goals made (215, 1st), steals per game (1.83, 2nd), field goals attempted (438, 3rd), field goal percentage (49.1, 8th), assists per game (3.7, 9th) and free throw percentage (79.8, 10th).
The Crosby, Texas native has posted a league-leading 21 games with 20 or more points, including a season-high 29 points at UNLV (Nov. 9) and against Arkansas State (Dec. 8), and has scored double figures in 30-of-31 games.
Haggerty is the only player in the country currently averaging at least 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He scored his 1,000th-career point on Jan. 5 against North Texas with a 27-point outing.
One of only three Tigers to start all 31 games this season, Haggerty is a four-time AAC Player of the Week this season and has also been named to the weekly honorable mention four times.
Haggerty is the second Tiger to bring home AAC Player of the Year honors, joining Precious Achiuwa in 2019-20.
DAIN DAINJA | NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR, FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC, ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Dainja has emerged as one of the nation's most improved players from last year while establishing himself as one of the premier big men in all of college basketball.
The big fella is averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds this season and ranks 11th in the country with a 61.3 field goal percentage. He leads the Tigers with six double-doubles and ranks second with 35 blocks.
He is one of only five players in the country averaging at least 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 60.0 percent with 30 or more blocks.
Dainja started the first three games of the season and then was sent to the bench as the sixth man for the next two months. He returned to the starting five against UAB on Jan. 26 and has since produced the best basketball of his career, averaging 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds with a 68.1 field goal percentage.
The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native has posted six 20-point games with four double-doubles in that span.
Dainja scored a career-high 25 points against Rice on Feb. 26 at home and then pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds at UAB in the very next outing on March 2. Those 17 boards are tied for the third-most by any AAC player this season.
On the year, he has scored double figures 22 times and has six double-doubles. He was also named the AAC Player of the Week on March 3 and has three honorable mention nods this season.
TYRESE HUNTER | FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC, ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Hunter landed all-conference honors for the first time in his career, earning a spot on the first team alongside Haggerty and Dainja.
The Racine, Wisconsin native has averaged a career-high 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while starting all 30 games he's played in.
Hunter is one of only four players in the conference to earn multiple player of the week honors after doing so twice in a three-week span in December.
The senior guard has been one of the top 3-point shooters in the country for most of the season, including a three-day span at the Maui Invitational that saw him drain 14-of-24 from deep en route to earning All-Tournament honors. He is fifth in the AAC averaging 2.4 made three-pointers per game, while his 40.6 three-point percentage is sixth best.
Hunter matched his career-high with seven triples against No. 2 UConn and No. 16 Clemson, and has seven games this season with four or more made threes. In the 106 career games prior to arriving in Memphis, he had only four such games total.
He is second on the Tigers with seven 20-point games this season, and has eclipsed double digits 21 times.
UP NEXT
The Tigers head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the AAC Tournament at Dickies Arena this week. Memphis won't play until the quarterfinals on Friday, March 14 with a noon tipoff against the winner of the No. 8 Wichita State and No. 9 South Florida.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Head Coach Penny Hardaway was named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time. Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty was named The American Player of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the First Team.
Senior forward Dain Dainja was named the Newcomer of the Year and earned a place on the All-AAC First Team and All-Newcomer Team as unanimous selections.
Senior guard Tyrese Hunter also landed a spot on the First Team and was selected to the All-Newcomer Team alongside Dainja.
It marks the second time in 13 years as AAC members that Memphis has had multiple players on the first team.
PENNY HARDAWAY | AAC COACH OF THE YEAR
Now in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach, Hardaway has led Memphis to its first AAC regular season crown, the program's most regular season wins in 13 years and its highest AP ranking in March since the 2008-09 season.
Hardaway earned the 150th win of his career on Feb. 13 at South Florida and guided the Tigers to a runner-up finish at the Maui Invitational in November with wins over then No. 2 UConn and Michigan State.
Despite owning a consensus top-3 toughest nonconference schedule in the country, Hardaway's Tigers own three wins over AP ranked teams, six against power conference opponents and 11 victories over Quad 1 and 2 teams.
In February, Hardaway was one of 15 head coaches across Division I to be named to the 2025 Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Watch List.
PJ HAGGERTY | PLAYER OF THE YEAR, FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC
After an electrifying season at Tulsa in 2023-24 that saw him win a national freshman of the year honor, Haggerty was widely considered one of the top transfers in the country and Hardaway wasted little time in getting him to Memphis. He has lived up to the preseason hype with an All-American caliber season.
He has been named a top-5 finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, a top-15 finalist for the Wooden Award, and landed on midseason watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy.
Haggerty ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 21.2 points per game, is fourth in free throws made (190) and seventh in free throws attempted (238).
He also stands among the AAC league's top-10 leaders in minutes per game (36.5, 1st), field goals made (215, 1st), steals per game (1.83, 2nd), field goals attempted (438, 3rd), field goal percentage (49.1, 8th), assists per game (3.7, 9th) and free throw percentage (79.8, 10th).
The Crosby, Texas native has posted a league-leading 21 games with 20 or more points, including a season-high 29 points at UNLV (Nov. 9) and against Arkansas State (Dec. 8), and has scored double figures in 30-of-31 games.
Haggerty is the only player in the country currently averaging at least 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He scored his 1,000th-career point on Jan. 5 against North Texas with a 27-point outing.
One of only three Tigers to start all 31 games this season, Haggerty is a four-time AAC Player of the Week this season and has also been named to the weekly honorable mention four times.
Haggerty is the second Tiger to bring home AAC Player of the Year honors, joining Precious Achiuwa in 2019-20.
DAIN DAINJA | NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR, FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC, ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Dainja has emerged as one of the nation's most improved players from last year while establishing himself as one of the premier big men in all of college basketball.
The big fella is averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds this season and ranks 11th in the country with a 61.3 field goal percentage. He leads the Tigers with six double-doubles and ranks second with 35 blocks.
He is one of only five players in the country averaging at least 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 60.0 percent with 30 or more blocks.
Dainja started the first three games of the season and then was sent to the bench as the sixth man for the next two months. He returned to the starting five against UAB on Jan. 26 and has since produced the best basketball of his career, averaging 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds with a 68.1 field goal percentage.
The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native has posted six 20-point games with four double-doubles in that span.
Dainja scored a career-high 25 points against Rice on Feb. 26 at home and then pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds at UAB in the very next outing on March 2. Those 17 boards are tied for the third-most by any AAC player this season.
On the year, he has scored double figures 22 times and has six double-doubles. He was also named the AAC Player of the Week on March 3 and has three honorable mention nods this season.
TYRESE HUNTER | FIRST TEAM ALL-AAC, ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Hunter landed all-conference honors for the first time in his career, earning a spot on the first team alongside Haggerty and Dainja.
The Racine, Wisconsin native has averaged a career-high 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while starting all 30 games he's played in.
Hunter is one of only four players in the conference to earn multiple player of the week honors after doing so twice in a three-week span in December.
The senior guard has been one of the top 3-point shooters in the country for most of the season, including a three-day span at the Maui Invitational that saw him drain 14-of-24 from deep en route to earning All-Tournament honors. He is fifth in the AAC averaging 2.4 made three-pointers per game, while his 40.6 three-point percentage is sixth best.
Hunter matched his career-high with seven triples against No. 2 UConn and No. 16 Clemson, and has seven games this season with four or more made threes. In the 106 career games prior to arriving in Memphis, he had only four such games total.
He is second on the Tigers with seven 20-point games this season, and has eclipsed double digits 21 times.
UP NEXT
The Tigers head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the AAC Tournament at Dickies Arena this week. Memphis won't play until the quarterfinals on Friday, March 14 with a noon tipoff against the winner of the No. 8 Wichita State and No. 9 South Florida.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball: Penny Hardaway, Dain Dainja and Coby Rogers Press Conference-March 21, 2025
Friday, March 21
Men's Basketball: Penny Hardaway Press Conference-March 20, 2025
Thursday, March 20
Men's Basketball: Coby Rogers, PJ Haggerty and Dain Dainja Press Conference-March 20, 2025
Thursday, March 20
Men's Basketball: PJ Haggerty and Nicholas Jourdain Press Conference- March 18 2025
Tuesday, March 18