Sampson Named The American Coach of the Year

HOUSTON – For the second straight season, University of Houston Men's Basketball Head Coach Kelvin Sampson was honored as the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on Wednesday.

In 2018-19, Sampson has led the Cougars to a 29-2 record, the program's first outright regular-season conference championship since 1984 and Top-10 rankings in both national polls.

His Houston team won its first 15 games to open the season for the program's third-longest winning streak in school history and followed that with a 12-game streak after enduring its first loss at Temple in early January.

After winning 19 straight games in H&PE Arena as their home arena underwent a $60-million renovation, Sampson's Cougars won their first 14 home games in the Fertitta Center and owned the nation's longest home winning streak at 33 games until late February.

With the Cougars' win at SMU in mid-January, Sampson became only the 52^nd coach in NCAA history to reach 600 victories in his career. That win also gave him 100 in his Houston career and made him the fastest coach in UH history to reach that total.

Sampson became only the second coach in program history to win consecutive conference Coach of the Year honors and the first since Hall of Fame Coach Guy V. Lewis accomplished the feat in 1983-84 in the Southwest Conference.

With Wednesday's award, Sampson collected his sixth conference Coach of the Year award from his fourth league. In addition to the two with Houston in The American, Sampson also received accolades in 1995 (Big Eight, Oklahoma); 1991 (Pac-10, Washington State) and 1985 and 1983 (Frontier, Montana Tech).

Sampson first earned the honor with the Cougars in 2017-18 after leading Houston to a 27-8 overall record, a second-place finish in the league and the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 1984.

Sampson joined the long list of Cougars honored by The American this postseason. On Monday, senior guard Corey Davis Jr. was named to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team, while junior guard Armoni Brooks earned a place on the Second Team. In addition, guard Nate Hinton was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Sophomore guard DeJon Jarreau was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year, while senior point guard Galen Robinson Jr. received the Sportsmanship Award on Tuesday.

Cincinnati's Jarron Cumberland was named the league's Player of the Year while USF forward Alexis Yetna was honored as the Freshman of the Year.

UP NEXT
• Sampson and the Cougars return to action in the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship this weekend.
• The Cougars meet the winner of No. 8 seed USF-No. 9 seed UConn at 11 a.m., Friday, inside FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. That game can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on KPRC 950 AM.

BUY TICKETS
Fans can get a head start on the 2019-20 campaign by purchasing season tickets now, starting at only $175.

Fans can purchase 2019-20 season tickets at UHCougars.com/tickets or by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at 713-GO-COOGS (462-6647).

JOIN the 50-50-CLUB
Fans are invited to join the 50-50 Club to support Houston Men's Basketball. 50-50 Club members help fund program necessities and enhance the experience for our student-athletes.

Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered team apparel, a signed basketball, invitations to practice, a tour of the $25 million Guy V. Lewis Development Facility, regular updates about the program and much more.

To join the 50-50 Club, fans can call 713-743-9742 or email UHMensBasketball@uh.edu. For more information about the 50-50 Club, levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team' Facebook page at HoustonCougarMensHoops or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.

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Players Mentioned

Armoni Brooks

Corey Davis Jr.

Nate Hinton

DeJon Jarreau

Galen Robinson Jr.

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