Jefferson Named Gary Thompson Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year

AMES, Iowa – After putting together one of the best seasons in Iowa State history, Joshua Jefferson has been named the Gary Thompson Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year.

Jefferson is the 18^th Iowa State Men's Basketball player to earn the award, which started in 1947. The last men's basketball player to earn the award was Monté Morris in 2017, as the program completed a run of having three in four years with Melvin Ejim (2014) and Georges Niang (2016) also winning.

Last week, Jefferson was drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, a pick that was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Jefferson is the 42^nd NBA Draft pick in school history and the 11^th in the first round. Iowa State has had 15 players drafted since the Big 12 was formed in 1996-97, the fourth-best total in the league. The seven first round picks in that span are also the fourth-most in league history.

Jefferson, the fifth consensus All-American in program history, was Mr. Do-It-All for the Cyclones. He was the first player in Big 12 history to turn in multiple triple-doubles in Big 12 play. He averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He was the only Power Conference player in the country to average those numbers last season. Only seven players have done so in an entire season in the country going back to 1974-75, with no one in the Big 12 having accomplished it. Jefferson scored in double figures in 34 games last season, the third-most games in double figures in a season in school history. His streak of 40-straight games going back to last season ranked as the second-longest in the nation before going down with an injury in the opening minutes of the NCAA Tournament. His 167 assists last season were tied for the 19^th-most in program history, while his 276 over the last two seasons were the 18^th-most in program history for a career.

A Naismith Trophy Top 10 Semifinalist and Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Top 5 Finalist, Jefferson earned All-American honors from six different organizations. Notably, he was a first team selection by The Sporting News and was a consensus second team All-American. Jefferson was also a two-time All-Big 12 selection in his two years at Iowa State, earning first team honors as a senior and second team honors as a junior. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer team his junior season after transferring from Saint Mary's.

Jefferson will be recognized at the Iowa State football season opener against SEMO on Sept. 5 at Jack Trice Stadium.

Gary Thompson Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year Winners
1947 - Ron Norman, Basketball
1948 - Glen Brand, Wrestling
1949 - Bob Peterson, Basketball
1950 - Bill Weeks Football
1951 - Jim Doran, Football
1952 - Mal Schmidt, Football & Swimming
1953 - Jack Erickson, Football & Wrestling
1954 - Max Burkett, Football
1955 - Chuck Duncan, Basketball
1956 - Gary Thompson, Baseball & Basketball
1957 - Gary Thompson, Baseball & Basketball
1958 - Frank Powell, Football & Wrestling
1959 - Ron Gray, Wrestling
1960 - Dwight Nichols, Football
1961 - Tom Watkins, Football
1962 - Dave Hoppman, Football
1963 - Marv Straw, Basketball
1964 - Gordon Hassman, Wrestling
1965 - Tom Vaughn, Football
1966 - Tom Peckham, Wrestling
1967 - Don Smith, Basketball
1968 - Don Smith, Basketball
1969 - Dan Gable, Wrestling
1970 - Dan Gable, Wrestling
1971 - Otto Stowe, Football
1972 - George Amundson, Football
1973 - Chris Taylor, Wrestling
1974 - Doug Fitzjarrell, Gymnastics
1975 - Al Nacin, Wrestling
1976 - Pete Galea, Wrestling
1977 - Wayne Stanley, Football
1978 - Mark Trippel, Gymnastics
1979 - Mike Land, Wrestling
1980 - Mike Schwartz, Football
1981 - Ron Galimore, Gymnastics
1982 - John Quinn, Football
1983 - Nate Carr, Wrestling
1984 - Bob Verbeeck, Track & Field
1985 - Barry Stevens, Basketball
1986 - Mark Diab, Gymnastics
1987 - Stewart Carter, Wrestling
1988 - Eric Hansen, Swimming
            Jeff Grayer, Basketball
1989 - Tim Krieger, Wrestling
1990 - Mike Busch, Baseball & Football
1991 - John Nuttall, Cross Country and Track & Field
1992 - Obinna Eregbu, Track & Field
1993 - Jonah Koech, Track & Field
1994 - Eric Akin, Wrestling
1995 - Fred Hoiberg, Basketball
1996 - Dmitry Drozdov, Track & Field and Cross Country
1997 - Chris Bono, Wrestling
1998 - Dwight Hinson, Wrestling
1999 - Cael Sanderson, Wrestling
2000 - Marcus Fizer, Basketball
2001 - Jamaal Tinsley, Basketball
            Cael Sanderson, Wrestling
2002 - Cael Sanderson, Wrestling
2003 - Seneca Wallace, Football
2004 - Zach Roberson, Wrestling
            Jake Sullivan, Basketball
2005 - Ellis Hobbs, Football
2006 - Nate Gallick, Wrestling
2007 - Trent Paulson, Wrestling
2008 - Chris Baker, Golf
2009 - Jake Varner, Wrestling
2010 - Jake Varner, Wrestling
2011 - Jon Reader, Wrestling
2012 - Nate McCoy, Golf
2013 - Scott Fernandez, Golf
2014 - Melvin Ejim, Basketball
2015 - Edward Kemboi, Track & Field and Cross Country
            Kyven Gadson, Wrestling
2016 - Georges Niang, Basketball
2017 - Monté Morris, Basketball
2018 - Joel Lanning, Football
2019 - Edwin Kurgat, Track & Field and Cross Country
2020 - Edwin Kurgat, Track & Field and Cross Country
2021 - David Carr, Wrestling
2022 - Breece Hall, Football
2023 - David Carr, Wrestling
2024 - David Carr, Wrestling
2025 – Jayden Higgins, Football
   Jaylin Noel, Football
2026 – Joshua Jefferson, Basketball