Howell Trophy

Howell Trophy
Awarded for	Outstanding performance by a men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi
Country	United States
Presented by	Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
First award	2005
Currently held by	Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Website	Official website

The Howell Trophy is an award given annually to the best men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. First awarded in 2005, the award is open to players from all four-year colleges in Mississippi and is named after former Mississippi State star Bailey Howell.

Background

Mississippi-based telecommunications company Cellular South, known since 2011 as C Spire, in partnership with the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, began presenting its "Cellular South Outstanding Player Awards" in 1998, with the introduction of the Conerly Trophy, honoring the most outstanding college football player in the state of Mississippi. In September 2004, it was announced that the Hall of Fame and Cellular South would expand to include men's basketball, naming the award the Cellular South Howell Trophy in honor of Bailey Howell, the Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball alum and six-time NBA All-Star. The inaugural presentation of the trophy took place on April 14, 2005. ^[1]

Winners and finalists

Mississippi State center Jarvis Varnado is one of four players to win the award twice

Ole Miss guard Devontae Shuler won the award in 2021

Since the inaugural award in 2005, ^[2] the winner of the Howell Trophy is selected by a statewide panel of media members. ^[3] Mississippi State power forward Lawrence Roberts was the first recipient of the award for his performance during the 2004–05 season. ^[4]

Year	Winner	Pos	School	Ref	Other finalists
2004–05	Lawrence Roberts	PF	Mississippi State	[4]	Tommie Eddie , PF, Ole Miss Shane Power , SF, Mississippi State
2005–06	Jasper Johnson	C	Delta State	[5]	Trey Johnson , SG, Jackson State Charles Rhodes , PF, Mississippi State
2006–07	Trey Johnson	SG	Jackson State	[6]	Todd Abernethy , PG, Ole Miss Jamont Gordon , PG, Mississippi State
2007–08	Jamont Gordon	PG	Mississippi State	[7]	Dwayne Curtis , PF, Ole Miss Charles Rhodes , PF, Mississippi State
2008–09	Jarvis Varnado	PF/C	Mississippi State	[8]	David Huertas , SG, Ole Miss Terrico White , SG, Ole Miss
2009–10	Jarvis Varnado (2)	PF/C	Mississippi State	[9]	Garrison Johnson , SG, Jackson State Chris Warren , PG, Ole Miss
2010–11	Gary Flowers	PF	Southern Miss	[10]	Dee Bost , PG, Mississippi State Chris Warren (2), PG, Ole Miss
2011–12	Arnett Moultrie	PF	Mississippi State	[11]	Dee Bost (2), PG, Mississippi State Neil Watson , PG, Southern Miss
2012–13	Marshall Henderson	SG	Ole Miss	[12]	Dwayne Davis , SF, Southern Miss Murphy Holloway , PF, Ole Miss
2013–14	Jarvis Summers	PG	Ole Miss	[13]	Marshall Henderson , SG, Ole Miss Neil Watson (2), PG, Southern Miss
2014–15	Stefan Moody	SG	Ole Miss	[14]	Chip Armelin , SG, Southern Miss Devin Schmidt , PG, Delta State
2015–16	Stefan Moody (2)	SG	Ole Miss	[15]	Gavin Ware , PF, Mississippi State Quinndary Weatherspoon , SG, Mississippi State
2016–17	Sebastián Saiz	PF	Ole Miss	[16]	Devin Schmidt (2), SG, Delta State Quinndary Weatherspoon (2), SG, Mississippi State
2017–18	Quinndary Weatherspoon	PF	Mississippi State	[17]	Cortez Edwards , SG, Southern Miss Nick Weatherspoon , PG, Mississippi State
2018–19	Quinndary Weatherspoon (2)	PF	Mississippi State	[18]	Cortez Edwards (2), SG, Southern Miss Breein Tyree , PG, Ole Miss
2019–20	Reggie Perry	SF	Mississippi State	[19]	Ledarius Woods , SF, Tougaloo College Breein Tyree (2), PG, Ole Miss
2020–21	Devontae Shuler	SG	Ole Miss	[20]	Tristan Jarrett , SG, Jackson State D. J. Stewart Jr. , SG, Mississippi State
2021–22	Iverson Molinar	SG	Mississippi State	[21]	Tyler Stevenson , PF, Southern Miss Jarkel Joiner , PG, Ole Miss
2022–23	Tolu Smith	PF	Mississippi State	[22]	Austin Crowley , SG, Southern Miss Matthew Murrell , SG, Ole Miss
2023–24	Josh Hubbard	PG	Mississippi State	[23]	Austin Crowley (2), SG, Southern Miss Matthew Murrell (2), SG, Ole Miss
2024–25	Josh Hubbard (2)	PG	Mississippi State	[24]	Sean Pedulla , PG, Ole Miss Daeshun Ruffin , PG, Jackson State

Trophies won by school

Rank	School	Winners	Other finalists
1	Mississippi State	12	11
2	Ole Miss	6	15
3	Southern Miss	1	9
4	Jackson State	1	4
5	Delta State	1	2
6	Tougaloo College	0	1

See also

Other annual awards presented by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame for the best players in that state:

• Gillom Trophy – given to the best women's college basketball player
• C Spire Ferriss Trophy – given to the best college baseball player
• Conerly Trophy – given to the best overall college football player
• Hull Trophy – given to the best college football offensive lineman

References

1. "Cellular South expands partnership with state Hall of Fame and Museum". Hattiesburg American. November 17, 2004. p. 17. Retrieved January 16, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
2. "2 Bulldogs, Rebel finalists for Howell Trophy". The Vicksburg Post. Associated Press. March 16, 2005. p. 29. Retrieved January 16, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Mississippi's Best: Josh Hubbard and Madison Scott Win 2025 Howell and Gillom Trophies Presented by MBCI and Pearl River Resort". Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. March 10, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
4. "Roberts claims inaugural Howell Trophy". Hattiesburg American. Associated Press. April 15, 2005. p. 9. Retrieved January 16, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Johnson wins Bailey Howell". The Clarksdale Press Register. March 30, 2006.
6. Elkins, Ashley (March 27, 2007). "JSU's Johnson wins Howell Trophy". DJournal.com.
7. "MSU's Jamont Gordeon collects 2007–08 Cellular South Howell Trophy award". HailState.com. March 31, 2008.
8. "Howell and Gillom Trophy winners announced". MSNewsNow.com.
9. Locke, Brad (April 9, 2010). "MSU Sweeps Howell, Gillom Trophies". DJournal.com.
10. "Flowers wins Howell Trophy Delta State forward Veronica Walker takes Gillom Trophy". The Vicksburg Post.
11. "Moultrie named 2012 C Spire Howell Trophy winner". HailState.com. March 5, 2012.
12. "Marshall Henderson wins Howell Trophy". OleMissSports.com. March 11, 2013.
13. "Ole Miss' Jarvis Summers wins Howell Trophy; Southern Miss' Jamierra Faulkner claims Gillom". AP. March 3, 2014.
14. Brandt, David (March 9, 2015). "Ole Miss' Moody wins Howell, MSU's Vivians wins Gillom". The Clarion-Ledger.
15. Bonner, Michael (March 7, 2016). "Moody, Vivians win C Spire Howell, Gillom trophies again". The Clarion-Ledger.
16. "Saiz wins C Spire Howell Trophy". OleMissSports.com. March 6, 2017.
17. "Weatherspoon, Vivians Take Howell And Gillom Trophies". HailState.com. March 5, 2018.
18. "Weatherspoon, McCowan crowned best basketball players in Mississippi". Clarion Ledger. March 11, 2019.
19. "Mississippi State sweeps Gillom, Howell trophies for third straight season". Clarion Ledger. March 9, 2020.
20. "Devontae Shuler Wins C Spire Howell Trophy". CBS Sports. May 24, 2021.
21. "Winners of Gillom, Howell Trophies announced". SuperTalk: Mississippi Media. March 8, 2022.
22. "Winners of 2023 Gillom, Howell Trophies announced". SuperTalk: Mississippi Media. March 6, 2023.
23. "Winners announced for 2024 Howell and Gillom Trophies". CBS News 12. March 11, 2024.
24. "Winners named for 2025 Howell, Gillom Trophies". WLBT. March 10, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.