WICHITA, Kan. – A trio of Shockers earned American Conference honors, highlighted by First Team All-Conference selection Kenyon Giles.
Wichita State has a first team selection for the second straight season, as the American Conference announced its regular season awards Tuesday morning. In addition to Giles earning First Team All-Conference honors, he was also a unanimous pick for the All-Newcomer Team. Will Berg was named the American’s Sixth Man of the Year, and Karon Boyd was named Third Team All-Conference.
Giles ranked second in the American in scoring at 19.4 points per game, while leading the league in made three-pointers and three-point attempts. He is the fifth Shocker to be named first team since the Shockers joined the American. The Chesapeake, Va., native broke Wichita State’s single season three-point record with 105 this season – a number that ranks Top 15 nationally. He has scored 10 or more points in 28 of the team’s 31 games, including 16 game of 20 or more. His 16 20-point efforts rank fourth on Wichita State’s single season charts. Giles has scored 602 points this season – eighth most in a single season at Wichita State. Only nine players in the history of Wichita State basketball have scored 600 or more points in a season.
After starting the first 10 games of the season, Berg has come off the bench in each of the last 20 games. He is only the second Shocker to earn American Sixth Man of the Year honors, joining Ricky Council IV in 2022. In conference games, Berg averaged 8.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and blocked 26 shots. He ranked fourth in the league in rebounds per game and second in offensive rebounds per game. For the season he ranks Top 20 nationally in offensive rebounding. He has a team-leading eight double-doubles this season, five of those coming in American games.
With Boyd making the third team, Wichita State has had multiple all-conference teams for the second straight season after Xavier Bell and Corey Washington did it last year. Boyd is second on the team in scoring (10.9) and rebounding (5.8), while also tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player. He has 20 games of 10 or more points this season, second only to Giles. He has started all 31 games and his 31 made three-pointers are a career high.
Wichita State heads to Birmingham this week for the 2026 American Conference Championship where the Shockers are the No. 2 seed and receive a triple bye all the way to the semifinals. Semifinal action tips off at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida*
Defensive Player of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Freshman of the Year
Josiah Parker, Fr., G, Florida Atlantic*
Newcomer of the Year
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Most Improved Player
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Sixth Man of the Year
Will Berg, R-Jr., C, Wichita State
Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award
Asher Woods, Sr., G, Tulane
Coach of the Year
Bryan Hodgson, South Florida
First Team All-Conference
Jordan Riley, Sr., G, East Carolina
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB
Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Rowan Brumbaugh, Jr., G, Tulane
Miles Barstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Third Team All-Conference
Dezayne Mingo, Sr., G, Charlotte
Devin Vanterpool, R-So., G, Florida Atlantic
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Karon Boyd, Sr., F, Wichita State
All-Newcomer Team
Chance Westry, So., G, UAB*
Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr., So., G, North Texas
Wes Enis, Jr., G, South Florida*
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida *
Joe Pinion, Sr., G, South Florida
Derrian Ford, Sr., G, Temple
Miles Barstable, Sr., G, Tulsa
David Green Gr., F, Tulsa
Tylen Riley, Jr., G, Tulsa
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State*
*denotes unanimous selection
