Tampa, Fla. – March 10, 2026 – University of South Florida men's basketball forward
Izaiyah Nelson made history on Tuesday as the American Conference announced its 2025-26 Regular Season Honors and Major Awards, with the South Florida forward becoming the first player in conference history to sweep the league's three top individual accolades — Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year — in a single season.
Head coach
Bryan Hodgson was named American Conference Coach of the Year, capping a dominant regular season that saw South Florida claim their second regular season title in program history and No. 1 seed in the upcoming American Conference Tournament.
Nelson was also the only unanimous First Team All-Conference selection and one of four unanimous All-Newcomer Team selections.
Junior guard
Wes Enis made First Team All-Conference alongside Nelson. It marks the second time in program history that two South Florida players have earned First Team All-Conference honors in the same season.
Enis, also joined Nelson as a unanimous All-Newcomer Team selection.
Joseph Pinion rounds out USF's honorees, earning Third Team All-Conference recognition and an All-Newcomer Team selection.
Pinion and Enis both established a new program record for single-season threes made, each knocking down 100 three-point field goals, breaking Tyler Harris' previous record of 97 (2022-23). The duo helped lead South Florida to a program record in total three-point field goals made as a team (300), breaking the previous record of 295 (2023-24).
Nelson is only the second player in conference history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — joining Gary Clark of Cincinnati (2017-18). He averaged 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds, ranking sixth in the NCAA with 18 double-doubles, tying him for second-most in single-season program history.
Hodgson's Coach of the Year honor reflects a regular season in which he guided the Bulls to the tie the record for most regular season wins with 23, (2023-24) and a program record nine road-wins.
When Hodgson took the job, he promised a hard-nosed and fast-paced team. He and the Bulls delivered, leading the American Conference in offensive and defensive efficiency rating, (per KenPom). The Bulls smashed the previous scoring record of 83.8, averaging 88.4 points per game.
South Florida broke the conference record for most 100+ point games in a single-season, with six. The Bulls recorded three of the four highest scoring conference games in program history this season.
SOUTH FLORIDA'S 2025-26 AMERICAN CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON HONORS
Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F (Unanimous)
Defensive Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F
Newcomer of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F (Unanimous)
Coach of the Year
Bryan Hodgson
First Team All-Conference
Wes Enis, Jr., G (Unanimous All-Newcomer)
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F (Unanimous All-Newcomer)
Third Team All-Conference
Joseph Pinion, Sr., G (All-Newcomer)
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About USF Men's Basketball
South Florida men's basketball named Bryan Hodgson, 37, as the program's 12th head coach on March 24, 2025. Hodgson came to Tampa from Arkansas State, where he led the program to back-to-back 20-win seasons and its first postseason appearance since 1999 in his two seasons at the helm.
The program, entering its 55th season in 2025-26, most recently won the American Athletic Conference regular season championship in 2023-24 and has made 13 postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments, nine NITs, and a CBI championship in 2019. Three former Bulls – Chucky Atkins, Charlie Bradley, and Rodenko Dobras – have had their jerseys retired and are members of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame. The Bulls play their home games at the 10,400-seat Yuengling Center on the USF Tampa campus.
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