Purdue basketball's Zach Edey up for ESPY award
WEST LAFAYETTE − The best men's college basketball player in the country last season is now up for the best overall athlete.
Purdue center Zach Edey is one of four that ESPN announced as a finalist for the ESPY awards' Best Male College Athlete.
ESPN started the ESPY awards, now in its 31st year, to recognize Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY), relying on fan votes to honor the top athletes and performances of the year.
Along with Edey, the finalists for the award are USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, Duke lacrosse star Brennan O'Neil and Creighton soccer's Duncan McGuire.
The ESPY awards are Wednesday, July 12, in Los Angeles. ABC will televise the event.
Edey, now a Purdue senior, was the consensus men's basketball national player of the year last season, winning all six recognized National Player of the Year awards − the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy from the United States Basketball Writers Association, as well as National Player of the Year from The Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches and The Sporting News.
Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists, leading Purdue to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. He is the first player since blocks became an official NCAA statistic to notch at least 750 points, 400 rebounds, 70 blocks and 50 assists in a single season.
He was named a consensus first-team All-American, the second straight season that Purdue has had a consensus All-American (Jaden Ivey, 2022), after averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists per game.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue basketball's Zach Edey up for ESPY award
