The Howell Trophy is an award given annually to the best men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. First awarded in 2005, the award is open to players from all four-year colleges in Mississippi and is named after former Mississippi State star Bailey Howell.
Background Mississippi-based telecommunications company Cellular South, known since 2011 as C Spire, in partnership with the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, began presenting its "Cellular South Outstanding Player Awards" in 1998, with the introduction of the Conerly Trophy, honoring the most outstanding college football player in the state of Mississippi. In September 2004, it was announced that the Hall of Fame and Cellular South would expand to include men's basketball, naming the award the Cellular South Howell Trophy in honor of Bailey Howell, the Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball alum and six-time NBA All-Star. The inaugural presentation of the trophy took place on April 14, 2005.
Winners and finalists
Since the inaugural award in 2005, the winner of the Howell Trophy is selected by a statewide panel of media members. Mississippi State power forward Lawrence Roberts was the first recipient of the award for his performance during the 2004–05 season.
Year Winner Pos School Ref Other finalists 2004–05 PF , PF, Ole Miss, SF, Mississippi State 2005–06 C , SG, Jackson State, PF, Mississippi State 2006–07 SG , PG, Ole Miss, PG, Mississippi State 2007–08 PG , PF, Ole Miss, PF, Mississippi State 2008–09 PF/C , SG, Ole Miss, SG, Ole Miss 2009–10 (2) PF/C , SG, Jackson State, PG, Ole Miss 2010–11 PF , PG, Mississippi State (2), PG, Ole Miss 2011–12 PF (2), PG, Mississippi State, PG, Southern Miss 2012–13 SG , SF, Southern Miss, PF, Ole Miss 2013–14 PG , SG, Ole Miss (2), PG, Southern Miss 2014–15 SG , SG, Southern Miss, PG, Delta State 2015–16 (2) SG , PF, Mississippi State, SG, Mississippi State 2016–17 PF (2), SG, Delta State (2), SG, Mississippi State 2017–18 PF , SG, Southern Miss, PG, Mississippi State 2018–19 (2) PF (2), SG, Southern Miss, PG, Ole Miss 2019–20 SF , SF, Tougaloo College (2), PG, Ole Miss 2020–21 SG , SG, Jackson State, SG, Mississippi State 2021–22 SG , PF, Southern Miss, PG, Ole Miss 2022–23 PF , SG, Southern Miss, SG, Ole Miss 2023–24 PG (2), SG, Southern Miss (2), SG, Ole Miss 2024–25 (2) PG , PG, Ole Miss, PG, Jackson State 2025–26 (3) PG , PG, Jackson State, PF, Southern Miss
Trophies won by school RankSchoolWinnersOther finalists1 13 112 6 153 1 104 1 55 1 26 0 1
See also Other annual awards presented by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame for the best players in that state: Gillom Trophy – given to the best women's college basketball player C Spire Ferriss Trophy – given to the best college baseball player Conerly Trophy – given to the best overall college football player Hull Trophy – given to the best college football offensive lineman
References