List of NCAA March Madness Men's MVPs from inception

March Madness is undoubtedly the most anticipated part of the college basketball postseason. It is that time of the year when the best teams of the season across different conferences come up against each other to determine the national champion.

Every year, March Madness offers some of the greatest spectacles in college basketball. Fans get to witness some of the best players display their talent in the race for the national title. The most outstanding among them ends up being the tournament MVP.

A lot of players have been crowned the MVP of the NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1939. Accredited members of the media at the championship game decide on the winner through balloting. The first edition of the award was won by Ohio State’s Jimmy Hull.

List of Men's NCAA Tournament MVP

• 1939 – Jimmy Hull, Ohio State
• 1940 – Marvin Huffman, Indiana
• 1941 – John Kotz, Wisconsin
• 1942 – Howie Dallmar, Stanford
• 1943 – Ken Sailors, Wyoming
• 1944 – Arnie Ferrin, Utah
• 1945 – Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M
• 1946 – Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M
• 1947 – George Kaftan, Holy Cross
• 1948 – Alex Groza, Kentucky
• 1949 – Alex Groza, Kentucky
• 1950 – Irwin Dambrot, CCNY
• 1951 – Bill Spivey, Kentucky
• 1952 – Clyde Lovellette, Kansas
• 1953 – B. H. Born, Kansas
• 1954 – Tom Gola, La Salle
• 1955 – Bill Russell, San Francisco
• 1956 – Hal Lear, Temple
• 1957 – Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas
• 1958 – Elgin Baylor, Seattle
• 1959 – Jerry West, West Virginia
• 1960 – Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• 1961 – Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• 1962 – Paul Hogue, Cincinnati
• 1963 – Art Heyman, Duke
• 1964 – Walt Hazzard, UCLA
• 1965 – Bill Bradley, Princeton
• 1966 – Jerry Chambers, Utah
• 1967 – Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• 1968 – Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• 1969 – Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• 1970 – Sidney Wicks, UCLA
• 1971 – Vacated
• 1972 – Bill Walton, UCLA
• 1973 – Bill Walton, UCLA
• 1974 – David Thompson, NC State
• 1975 – Richard Washington, UCLA
• 1976 – Kent Benson, Indiana
• 1977 – Butch Lee, Marquette
• 1978 – Jack Givens, Kentucky
• 1979 – Earvin Johnson, Michigan State
• 1980 – Darrell Griffith, Louisville
• 1981 – Isiah Thomas, Indiana
• 1982 – James Worthy, North Carolina
• 1983 – Akeem Olajuwon, Houston
• 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
• 1985 – Ed Pinckney, Villanova
• 1986 – Pervis Ellison, Louisville
• 1987 – Keith Smart, Indiana
• 1988 – Danny Manning, Kansas
• 1989 – Glen Rice, Michigan
• 1990 – Anderson Hunt, UNLV
• 1991 – Christian Laettner, Duke
• 1992 – Bobby Hurley, Duke
• 1993 – Donald Williams, North Carolina
• 1994 – Corliss Williamson, Arkansas
• 1995 – Ed O'Bannon, UCLA
• 1996 – Tony Delk, Kentucky
• 1997 – Miles Simon, Arizona
• 1998 – Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
• 1999 – Richard Hamilton, Connecticut
• 2000 – Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State
• 2001 – Shane Battier, Duke
• 2002 – Juan Dixon, Maryland
• 2003 – Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
• 2004 – Emeka Okafor, Connecticut
• 2005 – Sean May, North Carolina
• 2006 – Joakim Noah, Florida
• 2007 – Corey Brewer, Florida
• 2008 – Mario Chalmers, Kansas
• 2009 – Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
• 2010 – Kyle Singler, Duke
• 2011 – Kemba Walker, Connecticut
• 2012 – Anthony Davis, Kentucky
• 2013 – Luke Hancock, Louisville
• 2014 – Shabazz Napier, Connecticut
• 2015 – Tyus Jones, Duke
• 2016 – Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
• 2017 – Joel Berry II, North Carolina
• 2018 – Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova
• 2019 – Kyle Guy, Virginia
• 2020 – None (Did not hold due to COVID-19)
• 2021 – Jared Butler, Baylor
• 2022 – Ochai Agbaji, Kansas
• 2023 – Adama Sanogo, Connecticut

Who are the favorites for the March Madness MVP in 2024

Several players are expected to be in the running to win the MVP award at the 2024 March Madness. These include Purdue’s Zach Edey, UConn’s Cam Spencer, Illinois’ Terrance Shannon Jr. and Houston's LJ Cryer. Robbie Avila is also considered a long shot for the award.

Since 1983, there hasn’t been an NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player from a non-title team. Akeem Olajuwon was the last player to achieve this feat. He earned the honor while playing for Houston, which reached the championship game but fell short against NC State.