THE JIM PHELAN AWARD

South Carolina's Frank Martin is the recipient of the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award. Martin led South Carolina to the most wins (26) in school history.

April 3, 2017

2017 JIM PHELAN AWARD

PHOENIX, AZ -- South Carolina’s Frank Martin is the recipient of the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award.

Martin led South Carolina to 26 wins and the school’s first-ever appearance in the Final Four. It was the Gamecocks first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and the 26 wins are the most in the program’s 109 seasons. He tied the program record with 25 wins last season.

“Frank Martin is a winner,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Angela Lento. “It should come as no surprise that he led South Carolina to the best season in school history. He’s one of the best coaches in the country.”

The Gamecocks posted 11 RPI top 100 wins during the regular season and spent nine weeks ranked in the Associated Press' Top 25 Poll.

The Jim Phelan award is presented annually to the top coach in division I men's basketball. Phelan led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season.

THE 2017 JIM PHELAN AWARD FINALISTS