By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – KJ Simon, a junior guard on the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad, joined impressive company today as he was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference first team and OVC All-Newcomer teams.
Simon becomes only the second player in Skyhawk history to earn a spot on both of those postseason lists in the same season, joining two-time All-American Lester Hudson (2007-08). Overall, he is the eighth different UT Martin representative to garner All-OVC first team status and the 13th separate Skyhawk to be voted to the OVC’s All-Newcomer squad.
The 6-3, 200-pound lefty concluded the regular season ranking second in the OVC in scoring (16.9 points per game, trailing only OVC Player of the Year KJ Williams from Murray State), third in steals (1.6 per contest) and third in blocked shots (1.4 per outing). Entering this week, Simon is the only NCAA Division I player to average at least 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
Simon captured the OVC’s Newcomer of the Week accolade on five separate occasions in 2021-22, winning that award on Nov. 22, Dec. 20, Jan. 3, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7. The five top OVC newcomer honors are tied with Hudson (2007-08) and Parker Stewart (2019-20) for the most in program history.
An Orlando, Fla. native, Simon topped UT Martin in scoring 14 times this season – pouring in at least 20 points a dozen times. He became the first Skyhawk guard since Jacolby Mobley in 2016-17 to pour in at least 500 points in a season as his career-high of 30 points (on 13-of-22 shooting) came in a nonconference triumph over UNC Asheville on Dec. 14. He also led UT Martin in rebounding on seven different occasions, accounting for a pair of double-doubles (19 points, 12 rebounds at Western Illinois on Dec. 4; 17 points, 11 rebounds at Belmont on Jan. 29).
Simon was additionally a force on the defensive end, accumulating 15 multi-steal performances and 12 multi-block outings. He swiped a career-best five steals against Middle Tennessee on Dec. 11 and later swatted away a career-high five blocks at Tennessee State on Jan. 6. Overall, his 41 blocks rank eighth in Skyhawk single-season history.
In addition to scoring, steals and blocks, Simon also led UT Martin in games played (30), field goals made (198) and free throws made (70) in 2021-22.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information