The men’s and women’s basketball teams won 10 awards from the Ohio Valley Conference on Tuesday, including major honors for senior Darby Maggard and men’s head coach Rick Byrd.
Maggard, who won the OVC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award, is coming off a stellar regular season, leading the team with 17.4 points per game and breaking numerous milestones.
In February, Maggard became one of just five players in NCAA Division I history to score 400 career 3-pointers, and on Saturday she broke Belmont’s record for career 3-pointers with 418.
In addition to player of the year, Maggard made the All-OVC Women’s Basketball First Team, along with junior Ellie Harmeyer, who’s averaging 16.9 points and leading the team with 9.1 rebounds per game.
Harmeyer has had a strong performance all season, including 12 double-doubles and three OVC Player of the Week awards.
Senior Jenny Roy, who leads the Bruins in assists with 5.6 per game, was named to the All-OVC Women’s Basketball Second Team for the second year in a row.
With a conference record of 16-2, the women’s team will look to win its fourth straight OVC Tournament Championship starting on Wednesday.
Byrd, who became one of only five active men’s basketball head coaches to earn more than 800 career wins, was named OVC Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
In his 33rd season at Belmont, Byrd led the team to win the OVC regular season title, finishing with a 16-2 conference record. The team earned seven votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for Monday and will look to make its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.
The men’s team’s lineup is packed with plenty of star power of its own, including seniors Dylan Windler and Kevin McClain and freshman Nick Muszynski, who all made the All-OVC Men’s Basketball First Team.
Muszynski also made the OVC all-newcomer team and won OVC Freshman of the Year. He’s averaging 15 points per game, six rebounds and 2.2 blocks.
Windler — who was named the OVC Preseason Player of the Year back in November — leads the team with 21.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, including 15 double-doubles. McClain has also had a strong season, averaging 16.2 points per game.