BOSTON, Mass. – Eastern Kentucky University's Isaiah Cozart is a finalist for the 2024 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
 
The Lou Henson Award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.  The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com.
 
The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix during the men's NCAA Division I Basketball Final Four.
 
Cozart has already garnered a host of awards, including being the first player in conference history to be chosen as the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year and ASUN Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.  He was the unanimous choice for top defensive player.  Cozart was picked First Team All-ASUN by league head coaches and All-District III First Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).  NABC's District III includes all teams in the ASUN Conference and the Big South Conference.
 
The senior center from Richmond, Kentucky averaged 15.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.87 blocks per game while shooting 65 percent from the field this season.  Cozart led the ASUN in rebounding, offensive rebounding (4.10), defensive rebounding (5.93), double-doubles (14) and blocks (116).  He was second in field goal percentage and ninth in scoring.  Cozart leads the NCAA in blocks and blocks per game while ranking fourth in offensive rebounds, fifth in field goal percentage, 17th in rebounding and 26th in double-doubles.
 
Cozart set new program records for blocks in a game (11), blocks in a season, blocks per game in a season, career blocks (210) and career blocks per game (3.13).  It is also just the 25th time in program history that a player has averaged a double-double during a season, and only the sixth time in EKU history a player eclipsed 400 points and 300 rebounds in the same season.
 
On Nov. 27 against Troy, Cozart recorded EKU's first-ever triple double, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.
 
Cozart's 116 blocks in 2023-24 were the second-most in ASUN Conference history.  His 210 career blocks, in just two seasons, is tied for the third on the ASUN career blocks list, 24 away from matching the league record.
 
Only two players from the ASUN Conference were listed among the 35 finalists for the Lou Henson Award.