Coach May Named Finalist for Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award

Florida Atlantic University head men’s basketball coach Dusty May has been named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.

The Jim Phelan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I coach, is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spent his entire career at Mount Saint Mary’s University. May is one of 20 finalists for this year’s award.

May, who was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, led the Owls to an incredible 2022-23 campaign, the best season in FAU’s history. Heading into the C-USA Championship Tournament, the Owls are 28-3, the most wins by far in a season in FAU history. The Owls captured the outright regular season Conference USA Championship, for the first time in C-USA history and first title for the program since the A-SUN regular season championship in 2010-11. May led his Owls to the program’s first Top 25 ranking ever, ascending as high as No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

Not only has May made school history, but his accomplishments have also broken Conference USA records. FAU’s 18 C-USA wins a single-season conference record. The Owls rattled off an incredible 20-game winning streak, which doubled the FAU record and is the third-longest in C-USA history. FAU also went a perfect 17-0 at home and currently has the third-longest home winning streak in the nation.

May coached Johnell Davis to C-USA Sixth Player of the Year honors. Two of the Owl guards were named First Team All-C-USA in Davis & Alijah Martin, while Owl center Vladislav Goldin was named to Third Team All-C-USA honors. May’s Owls are the No. 1 seed in the upcoming C-USA tournament.