Each year the Bill Evans Award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The award winner is selected by members of the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. The award has been given annually since 1970.
Four recipients of the Bill Evans Award have won twice; Jeff Schneider (1977, 1978), Randy Moss (1994, 1995), Isaac McKneely (2021, 2022), and Eli Sancomb (2025, 2026). Most recipients go to NCAA Division I universities, with a high of ten playing at West Virginia. Six recipients have been selected in the NBA draft; Earl Jones (1979), Gay Elmore (1982), Bimbo Coles (1985), Tamar Slay (1998), Patrick Patterson (2006), O. J. Mayo (2007). Additionally, two recipients have been selected in the NFL draft; Randy Moss and Aaron Dobson (2009).
Award winners YearPlayerHigh SchoolCollegeNote1970ParkersburgWest Virginia1971Charles TownFairmont State1972Greenbrier EastWest Virginia1973CharlestonWest Virginia State1974WelchWest Virginia1975CharlestonLouisville1976DuPontConcord1977Washington IrvingVirginia Tech1978 (2)Washington IrvingVirginia Tech1979Mount HopeDistrict of Columbia1984 NBA draft: 1st round, 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers1980ShermanCharleston (WV) 1981PrincetonVirginia1982South CharlestonVMI1987 NBA draft: 6th round, 133rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks1983WilliamsonWake Forest1984 MullensWest Virginia1985Greenbrier EastVirginia Tech1990 NBA draft: 2nd round, 40th overall by the Sacramento Kings1986DuPontTennessee1987Oak HillWest Virginia1988WilliamsonGarden City CC1989Oak HillWest Virginia1990MartinsburgWest Virginia1991BrookePenn State1992Fairmont SeniorKentucky1993Woodrow WilsonJames Madison1994DuPontMarshall (football)Woodrow Wilson Fork Union1995 (2)DuPontMarshall (football)1998 NFL draft: 1st round, 21st overall by the Minnesota Vikings1996Oak HillTennessee / Marshall1997Wheeling ParkMassachusetts 1998Woodrow WilsonMarshall2002 NBA draft: 2nd round, 54th overall by the New Jersey Nets1999Saint AlbansFlorida2000Tug ValleyCharleston (WV) / Pikeville 2001George WashingtonRichmond2002Cabell MidlandMarshall2003Spring ValleyEastern Kentucky / West Virginia Tech2004Saint AlbansKentucky / Marshall2005CapitalNebraska2006HuntingtonKentucky2010 NBA draft: 1st round, 14th overall by the Houston Rockets2007HuntingtonUSC2008 NBA draft: 1st round, 3rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves2008BridgeportSaint Joseph's2009South CharlestonMarshall (football)2013 NFL draft: 2nd round, 59th overall by the New England Patriots2010LoganWest Virginia2011RipleyWake Forest / BYU2012Wheeling ParkWest Liberty (football)2013MartinsburgClemson2014George WashingtonVMI / Marshall2015Spring ValleyMarshall2016Tavian Dunn-MartinHuntingtonAkron / Duquesne2017Notre DameMarshall / Louisville2018Fairmont SeniorWest Virginia / Pikeville2019Fairmont SeniorWest Virginia / Baylor2020UniversityBowling Green / Liberty2021PocaVirginia / Louisville2022 (2)PocaVirginia / Louisville2023James MonroeNova Southeastern2024MorgantownAkron2025Wheeling CentralLiberty2026George WashingtonWright State (2)Wheeling CentralLiberty
Most winners by college Number Program 10 West Virginia 7 Marshall 3 Kentucky 3 Louisville 2 Akron 2 Charleston (WV) 2 Liberty 2 Marshall (football) 2 Tennessee 2 Virginia 2 Virginia Tech 2 VMI 2 Wake Forest
Most winners by high school SchoolNumber of AwardsYearsDuPont4 1976, 1986, 1994, 1995Fairmont Senior3 1992, 2018, 2019George Washington3 2001, 2014, 2026Huntington3 2006, 2007, 2016Oak Hill3 1987, 1989, 1996Woodrow Wilson3 1993, 1994, 1998Charleston2 1973, 1975Greenbrier East2 1972, 1985Martinsburg2 1990, 2013Poca2 2021, 2022Saint Albans2 1999, 2004South Charleston2 1982, 2009Spring Valley2 2003, 2015Washington Irving2 1977, 1978Wheeling Central2 2025, 2026Wheeling Park2 1997, 2012Williamson2 1983, 1988
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