Utah Valley University (UVU) men’s basketball Head Coach Mark Madsen earned his first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year Award after leading the Wolverines to the 2022-23 WAC regular season championship.

It is Madsen’s second WAC title in his past three seasons at UVU. Madsen, the head coach for nearly four years, led UVU to a second straight 20-win season with a 24-7 overall record. His team hit the 20-win mark faster than any team in UVU history during the program's full Division I status year. His 24 wins are just one win away from tying the UVU record for wins in a season at 25.

In addition to Coach Madsen’s accolades, several players on the Wolverine roster were given WAC distinctions.

UVU sophomore center Aziz Bandaogo has been named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Bandaogo, Le'Tre Darthard, and Trey Woodbury earned First Team All-WAC honors.

Bandaogo also earned WAC All-Defensive Team and WAC All-Newcomer Team accolades, while Darthard was named to the WAC All-Defensive Team, an honor voted on by WAC head coaches.

Bandaogo, from Senegal, is one of the top shot blockers and rebounders in the country, ranking third nationally in blocks (89), fifth in blocks per game (2.87), eighth in total rebounds (324), ninth in defensive rebounds per game (7.61), and 10th in rebounds per game (10.5). Bandaogo's 89 blocks are the most swats recorded in a single season in UVU history. He is just the second player in UVU history to average a double-double at 11.4 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. His 15 double-doubles are the 11th-most recorded in the nation this season. He is only the third player in UVU history to average double-digit rebounds.

Darthard, from Denton, Texas, earns WAC honors after leading the Wolverines in scoring at 14.4 points per game. He also led the team with a 38% clip from three-point range, knocking down a team-best 63 shots. Darthard leads the WAC at the free throw line with an 88.9% (112-126) mark, ranking him 14th nationally. He made 31 straight free throws during the season, which was just ten away from the UVU record of 41. Darthard scored a career-high 31 points in a win over Southern Utah University, where he knocked down 16 of 17 shots at the free-throw line. He also knocked down a career-high seven threes in a win over Long Beach State, the third-most ever recorded in a game in program history.

Woodbury, from Las Vegas, earns the second all-WAC honor of his career as he also earned All-WAC honorable mention honors in 2021. Woodbury averaged 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists this season. He recently became just the third UVU player to record a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in UVU's outright WAC-clinching win over Stephen F. Austin last week. Woodbury is closing in on the 1,000-career point mark with 997 points. He would become just the ninth player in UVU history to score 1,000 points.

Utah Valley University is heading into the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas with the No. 2 seed. The Wolverines are set to play the winner of Tuesday's first-round game between No. 7 Tarleton and No. 10 UTRGV on Thursday, March 9, at 7 p.m. MT at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.