Coach May Named Finalist for Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award

Florida Atlantic University head men’s basketball coach Dusty May has been named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.

The Jim Phelan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I coach, is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spent his entire career at Mount Saint Mary’s University. May is one of 20 finalists for this year’s award.

May, who was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, led the Owls to an incredible 202223 campaign, the best season in FAU’s history. Heading into the C-USA Championship Tournament, the Owls are 28-3, the most wins by far in a season in FAU history. The Owls captured the outright regular season Conference USA Championship, for the first time in C-USA history and first title for the program since the A-SUN regular season championship in 2010-11. May led his Owls to the program’s first Top 25 ranking ever, ascending as high as No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

Not only has May made school history, but his accomplishments have also broken Conference USA records. FAU’s 18 C-USA wins a single-season conference record. The Owls rattled off an incredible 20-game winning streak, which doubled the FAU record and is the third-longest in C-USA history. FAU also went a perfect 17-0 at home and currently has the third-longest home winning streak in the nation.

May coached Johnell Davis to C-USA Sixth Player of the Year

Top-Seeded Owls Set for Conference USA Tournament

After a historic regular season in which the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team went 28-3, the Owls have set their sights on the Conference USA Championship Tournament. The C-USA tourney begins on March 9 for the top-seeded Owls. FAU will await the winner of UTEP and WKU, and the Owls’ quarterfinal game will be at 5:30 p.m. central at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

The Owls earned the top seed and regular season conference title after an incredible 18-2 run in C-USA, which is the most conference wins in a season in the league’s history.

The Owls shattered the single-season FAU record for wins with 28, topping the previous mark of 21.

FAU is the top seed for the first time in the school’s 10-year history in C-USA.

The Owls were well-represented on the all-conference teams, led by head coach Dusty May‘s honor in being named C-USA Coach of the Year.

Johnell Davis was selected as Sixth Player of the Year, marking the Owls’ first major award winner since 2018-19. Davis also landed on the All-C-USA First Team.

Joining Davis on the First team was backcourt mate Alijah Martin, and Owl center Vladislav Goldin earned Third Team All-C-USA honors.

The Owls swept both the Hilltoppers and the Miners in the regular-season series, defeating WKU by scores of 76-62 and 70-63 and UTEP by scores of 67-59 and 75-49.

Much of FAU’s success this season has been a credit to the Owls’ depth, with three players averaging double figures in scoring (Davis 13.2, Martin 12.6, Goldin 10.9) and two more averaging at least nine (Michael Forrest 9.6, Nick Boyd 9.2).

Regularly using a nine or 10-man rotation, the Owls have nine players averaging 15 or more minutes a game.

The Owls have displayed unselfish basketball throughout the season, registering more assists than their opponents in 27 of the 31 games, in which FAU owns a 25-2 record.

Winning the rebounding battle has also been a common trend, with FAU out-rebounding its opponents in 23 games, in which the Owls are 23-0.

FAU set its single season record for 3-pointers made with 314 treys, breaking last year’s record of 299.

Boyd is FAU’s leading 3-point shooter with a clip of 43.1% from beyond the arc, while Davis is shooting the long ball at a 41% mark.

honors. Two of the Owl guards were named First Team All-CUSA in Davis & Alijah Martin, while Owl center Vladislav Gol - din was named to Third Team All-C-USA honors. May’s Owls are the No. 1 seed in the upcoming C-USA tournament.