Ryan Nembhard Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard has been announced as the 2021-22 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Nembhard is Creighton's first Freshman of the Year since Justin Patton was recognized by the BIG EAST following the 2016-17 campaign, and first true freshman from CU honored since Doug McDermott earned the same accolade from the Missouri Valley Conference in 2010-11.

The recognition is just the latest for the six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. On Monday, Nembhard became Creighton's first unanimous choice to the All-Freshman Team since Marcus Zegarowski in 2018-19. Nembhard paced the Bluejays in assists (4.4), steals (1.3) and minutes (34.8) per game. The Aurora, Ontario, Canada product averaged 11.3 points per contest before undergoing season-ending surgery on his right wrist on February 25.

Nembhard's selection marks the sixth straight Bluejay freshman to average at least 10.5 points per game to bring home Freshman of the Year honors, a list that also includes Rodney Buford (1995-96), Ryan Sears (1997-98), P'Allen Stinnett (2007-08), McDermott (2010-11) and Patton (2016-17).

For the season, Creighton collected 11-of-16 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors, with Nembhard (6) and Creighton teammates Trey Alexander (3) and Arthur Kaluma (2) also picking up multiple plaudits.

Fourth-seeded Creighton (20-10) will meet fifth-seeded Marquette (19-11) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Central in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden and can be heard on KOZN (1620 AM) and watched on FS1.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year History
1979-80: David Russell, St. John's
1980-81: Fred Brown, Georgetown
1981-82: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
1982-83: Earl Kelley, Connecticut
1983-84: Dwayne Washington, Syracuse
1984-85: Charles Smith, Pittsburgh
1985-86: Dana Barros, Boston College
1986-87: Derrick Coleman, Syracuse
1987-88: Sean Miller, Pittsburgh
1988-89: Brian Shorter, Pittsburgh
1989-90: Nadav Henefeld, Connecticut
1990-91: Billy Curley, Boston College
1991-92: Lawrence Moten, Syracuse
1992-93: Othella Harrington, Georgetown
1993-94: Doron Sheffer, Connecticut
1994-95: Allen Iverson, Georgetown
1995-96: James "Scoonie" Penn, Boston College
1996-97: Tim Thomas, Villanova
1997-98: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut
1998-99: Troy Murphy, Notre Dame
1999-00: Troy Bell, Boston College
2000-01: Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
2001-02: Chris Thomas, Notre Dame
2002-03: Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
2003-04: Chris Taft, Pittsburgh
2004-05: Rudy Gay, Connecticut and Jeff Green, Georgetown
2005-06: Dominic James, Marquette
2006-07: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
2007-08: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh and Jonny Flynn, Syracuse
2008-09: Greg Monroe, Georgetown
2009-10: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
2010-11: Cleveland Melvin, DePaul
2011-12: Moe Harkless, St. John's
2012-13: JaKarr Sampson, St. John's
2013-14: Billy Garrett Jr., DePaul
2014-15: Angel Delgado, Seton Hall
2015-16: Henry Ellenson, Marquette
2016-17: Justin Patton, Creighton
2017-18: Omari Spellman, Villanova
2018-19: James Akinjo, Georgetown
2019-20: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova
2020-21: Posh Alexander, St. John's
2021-22: Ryan Nembhard, Creighton
NOTE: The award was called Rookie of the Year through the 2014-15 season

Creighton's Previous Men's Basketball Conference Freshman of the Year Honorees
1995-96: Rodney Buford, Missouri Valley Conference
1997-98: Ryan Sears, Missouri Valley Conference
2007-08: P'Allen Stinnett, Missouri Valley Conference
2010-11: Doug McDermott, Missouri Valley Conference
2016-17: Justin Patton, BIG EAST Conference
2021-22: Ryan Nembhard, BIG EAST Conference

Players Mentioned

Trey Alexander

Arthur Kaluma

Ryan Nembhard

Justin Patton

Marcus Zegarowski

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