DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis senior guard Elijah Pepper has been named the Big West Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.

Pepper has become UC Davis' first men's basketball player to secure the league's Player of the Year Award since TJ Shorts in 2018. He becomes just the 13th Aggie in program history to win a Conference Player of the Year Award, and just the third Aggie since UC Davis joined the Big West to secure the league's top honor. 

Pepper is joined in his selection as Player of the Year and First Team All-Big West by junior guard, Ty Johnson who was selected to the All-Big West Second Team.

For the entirety of the season, Pepper averaged 20.5 points per game and was the lone player within the Big West to average 20 or more points per game. After a junior season in which he set the program's all-time single season scoring record, the senior from Selah, Washington continued to elevate his game this season and showed just how dynamic of a two-way player he is.

For the second consecutive year, Pepper was named a first team All-Big West member. And for a second consecutive year, Pepper was the class of the conference when it came to scoring with his 20.5 points per game ranking 27th in the country and first in the conference. Pepper also led the Big West in steals, steals per game, free throw percentage, three pointers per game, and total three pointers. 

In Big West contests, Pepper averaged 20.8 points, 4.6 rebounds 2.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while being the league's premier marksman, sitting at the top as the only player to average three or more makes per game from three point range. 

Pepper's Player of the Year campaign was also met with historical record breaking. Shattering the UC Davis men's basketball career scoring record all the way back on Dec. 21, Pepper continued to check names off the list as he climbed the all-time Big West career-scoring leaders. With 636 points at the conclusion of the regular season, he is now second all-time with 2,238 career points to his name, trailing the top spot by 75 points. 

With the aforementioned 2,238 career points to his resume, Pepper Player of the Year season was also made noteworthy in his ability to eclipse the 2,000 career point threshold this year against UC Irvine, becoming one of just 684 players in Division I history to do so.

Not only a scorer, Pepper also broke UC Davis' career steal record with 222 total throughout his career, and a career-high 56 this year. His 56 steals this season was a featured by a seven steal effort against CSUN which ranks second all-time on UC Davis' single-game Division I record list, trailing only Johnson who recorded eight last year against Milwaukee.

In addition to the individual accolades and records that Pepper has broken this season, he has been instrumental in UC Davis' 19-12 record and their astonishing 14-6 record in Big West games. Leading the Aggies in scoring 19 times this season, Pepper was ultra efficient in Aggie wins, averaging 21.5 points per game while shooting 41% from three-point range.

Johnson joins Pepper as the Aggies other All-Big West selection, having a breakout junior season to earn a Second Team All-Big West nod. The guard from Chicago, Illinois, Johnson set the pace for the Aggies all season with clutch buckets, timely playmaking, and disruptive point of attack defense.

After being an honorable mention last season, Johnson improved in nearly every statistical category while improving his efficiency in the process. 

Johnson averaged a career-high 17.6 points per game, good for seventh in the Big West. He registered 23 double-figure scoring games and also led UC Davis in assists 16 times throughout the season. Making it even more impressive, he reached 20 or more points 13 times on the season and had a pair of 30 point games, highlighted by his 30 point effort against Hawai'i, a game in which he and Pepper traded buckets all night as the duo each registered 30 points in a pivotal win.

While Johnson registered a Big West Player of the Week for his other 30 point effort of the season in a non-conference win against Pacific, Johnson took his game to new heights during Big West action.

In Big West contests, Johnson averaged 18.4 points, 3.4 assists, and a league leading tie 2.0 steals per game. 

Johnson was one of five players in Big West games to rank both top-10 in scoring average and assists per game, and finished his season with 17 straight double-figure scoring games with nine of those contests being 20 point or more outputs.

As a pair, the guards were a big reason for why UC Davis is currently ranked 21st in the country in turnovers forced per game. Not only was their defense helpful in causing turnovers for the opposition, throughout the year, but as the season progressed, their stifling perimeter efforts helped charge UC Davis' top-ranked three point field goal percentage defense in league play.

Combining 4.0 steals per game with each Pepper and Johnson averaging 2.0 steals per game during conference play, the duo were the only players during Big West action with two or more steals per contest.

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Aggies will play in the Big West Championship semifinals on Friday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m. (PT). The game which was originally scheduled to air on ESPNU, has now been changed to ESPN2 as the Aggies once again find themselves in the national spotlight. UC Davis will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup which will pit the winner of UC Santa Barbara/CSUN vs. Hawai'i.