Cal’s Jaylen Brown named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

Cal forward Jaylen Brown was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year by the conference’s coaches, the Pac-12 announced Monday night.

“I think individual success comes from team accolades,” Brown said. “I think we’re playing some really good basketball as of late, so shout out to my teammates and coaching staff for everything.”

Utah sophomore forward/center Jakob Poeltl was named Player of the Year; Oregon State senior guard Gary Payton II repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, and Oregon’s Dana Altman repeated as John R. Wooden Coach of the Year.

Brown is the eighth player in Cal history to win the award and the first since Allen Crabbe in 2011. Earlier Monday, Brown was the only freshman selected first-team All-Pac-12. The 6-foot-7 forward was the first Bears rookie to earn first-team honors since Leon Powe in 2003-04.

Brown enters the Pac-12 tournament this week third all-time in scoring average among Cal freshmen, behind Shareef Abdur-Rahim (21.1 ppg, 1995- 96) and Ryan Anderson (16.3 ppg, 2006-07). In conference play, he is averaging 15.9 points on 46.1 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Brown is one of five finalists for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Integris Wayman Tisdale Award, presented to the nation’s top freshman.

Stanford forward Rosco Allen joined Brown on the All-Pac-12 first team.

"Rosco’s been our best player this year,’’ Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins said. "He’s really stepped up for us. He’s given us leadership. Offensively he’s given us some stability. It’s been fun watching Rosco bloom in those areas.’’

Cal’s Ivan Rabb and Tyrone Wallace earned second-team and honorable-mention honors, respectively. Brown and Rabb were also selected for the Pac-12 All-Freshman squad.

They’re the best in the West

Coaches selected the following players and coaches for individual awards:

Player of the Year — Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Freshman of the Year — Jaylen Brown, Cal

Defensive Player of the Year — Gary Payton II, Oregon State

Most Improved Player of the Year — George King, Colorado

Scholar-Athlete of the Year — Brandon Taylor, Utah

Coach of the Year — Dana Altman, Oregon

Coaches selected the following players for all-conference honors:

ALL-PAC-12 FIRST TEAM

Rosco Allen, Stanford

Ryan Anderson, Arizona

Andrew Andrews, Washington

Dillon Brooks, Oregon

Jaylen Brown, Cal

Elgin Cook, Oregon

Julian Jacobs, USC

Gary Payton II, Oregon State

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Josh Scott, Colorado

ALL-PAC-12 SECOND TEAM

Isaac Hamilton, UCLA

Dejounte Murray, Washington

Ivan Rabb, Cal

Kaleb Tarczewski, Arizona

Gabe York, Arizona

ALL-PAC-12 HONORABLE MENTION

Bryce Alford, UCLA

Chris Boucher, Oregon

Josh Hawkinson, Washington State

Jordan Loveridge, Utah

Jordan McLaughlin, USC

Brandon Taylor, Utah

Tyrone Wallace, Cal

ALL-PAC-12 FRESHMAN TEAM

Jaylen Brown, Cal

Tyler Dorsey, Oregon

Dejounte Murray, Washington

Ivan Rabb, Cal

Allonzo Trier, Arizona

Honorable Mention: Bennie Boatwright, Marquese Chriss, Tres Tinkle

ALL-PAC-12 DEFENSIVE TEAM

Chris Boucher, Oregon

Gary Payton II, Oregon State

Josh Scott, Colorado

Brandon Taylor, Utah

Kaleb Tarczewski, Arizona

Honorable Mention: Malik Dime (Washington), Wesley Gordon (Colorado), Jakob Poeltl (Utah)