SAN BRUNO, California – The West Coast Conference announced its 2016-17 awards today and Eric Mika, TJ Haws and Yoeli Childs earned accolades. The All-WCC teams and award winners are voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches and are based on league games only.
Mika and Haws were named to the 2017 All-WCC First Team while Haws and Childs earned All-WCC Freshman Team recognition. Every year since joining the league for the 2011-12 season, BYU has placed two players on the All-WCC First Team while Haws and Childs are the fourth and fifth Cougars to earn WCC All-Freshman Team honors.
First-team honoree and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalist Mika was one of the most dominant players in the WCC, averaging 20.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in league play. He was first in the WCC in rebounding and blocks, second in scoring and among the top 15 in field goal percentage and free-throw percentage. Mika’s 11 double-doubles during conference action were also tops in the WCC.
Mika’s dominance was on full display in the final game of the season when he totaled 29 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in an upset of No. 1 Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington. An All-Freshman honoree in 2013-14, Mika led the Cougars to a third-place finish in the league standings at 12-6 and the No. 3 seed in the WCC Championships.
Haws is the first Cougar freshman to earn first-team all-league honors since Danny Ainge in 1977-78. He averaged 14.9 points, 2.8 boards and 3.2 assists while leading the team with 44 3-point field goals on 41.9 percent shooting from downtown. Haws was among the top 10 in the WCC in 3-point field goals per game (T-4th), scoring (7th), free-throw percentage (T-7th), 3-point field goal percentage (8th) and assists (10th).
Childs posted averages of 10.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game during WCC contests. He had five games with double figure rebounds, two double-doubles and was third in the WCC in rebounding, fifth in blocks and eighth in field goal percentage. Childs’ best game came in a win at San Francisco when he totaled 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.
See the West Coast Conference announcement on WCCSports.com.
| Player of the Year | Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga |
| Coach of the Year | Mark Few, Gonzaga |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Joe Rahon, Saint Mary’s |
| Newcomer of the Year | Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga |
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Brownridge | Sr. | G | Santa Clara |
| TJ Haws | Fr. | G | BYU |
| Calvin Hermanson | Jr. | F | Saint Mary’s |
| Przemek Karnowski | Sr. | C | Gonzaga |
| Jock Landale | Jr. | C | Saint Mary’s |
| Eric Mika | So. | C | BYU |
| Lamond Murray Jr. | Sr. | G | Pepperdine |
| Joe Rahon | Sr. | G | Saint Mary’s |
| Johnathan Williams | Jr. | F | Gonzaga |
| Nigel Williams-Goss | Sr. | G | Gonzaga |
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Bailey | Sr. | F | San Diego |
| Ronnie Boyce III | Sr. | G | San Francisco |
| Brandon Brown | Sr. | G | Loyola Marymount |
| Zach Collins | Fr. | C | Gonzaga |
| KJ Feagin | So. | G | Santa Clara |
| Name | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|
| Yoeli Childs | F | BYU |
| Zach Collins | C | Gonzaga |
| TJ Haws | G | BYU |
| Charles Minlend | G | San Francisco |
| Jordan Ratinho | G | San Francisco |
| Olin Carter III, San Diego; Jazz Johnson, Portland; Nate Kratch, Santa Clara; Jordan Mathews, Gonzaga; Emmett Naar, Saint Mary’s; Josh Perkins, Gonzaga; Chris Reyes, Pepperdine; Buay Tuach, Loyola Marymount; T.J. Wallace, Pacific; Alec Wintering, Portland |