Ace Baldwin named A-10 Player of the Year

My photo at the Siegel Center.

From Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.: 

VCU junior Ace Baldwin Jr. has been named 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Tuesday, ahead of the start of its championship tournament. Baldwin was also named All-Atlantic 10 Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team. 

In addition, VCU graduate forward Brandon Johns Jr. and sophomore forward Jalen DeLoach were selected All-Conference Third Team by the league’s head coaches.

A 6-foot-1 point guard, Baldwin is the fourth player in Atlantic 10 Conference history to win both Player and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. 

Baldwin is the second Ram in three seasons to win Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, joining Bones Hyland, who claimed the 2021 honor. He is also the second VCU player in school history to earn A-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Briante Weber captured the award three times from 2013-15.

A Baltimore, Md. native, Baldwin leads the Rams in scoring (12.6 ppg) and ranks 15th in the country in assists (5.8 apg), as well as seventh nationally in steals (2.46 spg). Baldwin, who was twice named A-10 Player of the Week this season, poured in a career-high 37 points in a nationally televised win at Saint Louis on Feb. 3. He also dropped 28 points in a win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 30.

Baldwin also serves as the catalyst of a VCU defense that ranks 22nd nationally in defensive efficiency and fifth in turnover percentage.

Johns Jr. earned his first All-Conference honor following a regular season in which he averaged a career-high 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. A fifth-year transfer from Michigan, Johns Jr. scored in double figures in 21 of 30 contests and topped 20 points on two occasions. He also posted a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double on March 4 as the Rams closed the regular season with a 74-68 win at George Washington.

DeLoach broke out in his sophomore season, averaging 10.0 points, 7.1 rebounds (seventh in the A-10) and 1.3 blocks per game (fifth in the A-10), while shooting .561 from the floor. The 6-9 forward, who averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season, recorded four double-doubles during the regular season and posted 18 double-figure scoring efforts.

Behind its All-Conference trio, VCU crafted a 24-7 regular season mark, including 15-3 in A-10 play. 

VCU – CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

1982-83, Calvin Duncan, Sun Belt (Co-POY)

1995-96, Bernard Hopkins, CAA

2007-08, Eric Maynor, CAA

2008-09, Eric Maynor, CAA

2020-21, Bones Hyland, Atlantic 10

2022-23, Ace Baldwin Jr., Atlantic 10

VCU – CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

2008-09, Larry Sanders, CAA

2009-10, Larry Sanders, CAA

2012-13, Briante Weber, Atlantic 10

2013-14, Briante Weber, Atlantic 10

2014-15, Briante Weber, Atlantic 10

2022-23, Ace Baldwin Jr., Atlantic 10

For more about the A-10's All-Star voting and its awards go here.

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