Monté Morris is the Iowa State male athlete of the year

The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State Athletics Communications.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State men’s basketball player Monté Morris, the winningest player in school history, was honored today by the ISU Athletics Department as its 2016-17 male athlete of the year.

Morris, a Flint, Michigan native, cemented his status as one of the steadiest performers in school history with a senior season that was highlighted by earning Basketball Times and CBSSports.com All-America Second-Team honors. Morris led the Cyclones averaging a career-best 16.4 points to go along with 6.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds. He was the only player in the nation to average 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and less than 2.0 turnovers per game.

For the third time in four seasons, Morris set the standard with a 5.17 assist-to-turnover ratio, breaking the NCAA season record. He concludes his career owning four of the top-seven single-season marks and the career record with a 4.65 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Morris was in double figures in 31 of 35 games, scoring 20 points 10 times. He posted a career-high 30 points in ISU’s win at Oklahoma State and recorded the school’s fifth-ever triple-double against The Citadel, finishing with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Morris also had 25 points and seven assists as ISU snapped Kansas’ 51-game win streak at Allen Fieldhouse.

Morris was terrific in the Big 12 Championship as he helped lead the Cyclones to their third title in the last four seasons. He averaged 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals in wins against Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia and was named the Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

In his stellar career, Morris finished 11th in school history with 1,708 points, eighth with 152 three-pointers and first with 768 assists and 225 steals. He is just the seventh player since 1993 to post 1,700 points, 700 assists, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. Additionally, Morris set school records for games played (140) and consecutive starts (121).

Morris was also named to the NABC’s Good Works Team.

He is the 15th men’s basketball player (17 times) to take home the award in school history.

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

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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