Cavaliers Now

Virginia's Reece Beekman Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Beekman and Kihei Clark were All-ACC Third Team and ACC All-Defensive Team selections and Jayden Gardner was an honorable mention
Matt Newton|
Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

In this story:

Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia junior guard Reece Beekman has been named the ACC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday. 

Beekman is the first UVA player to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year since De'Andre Hunter in 2019 and he is the fifth Cavalier to win the award in the Tony Bennett era, joining Hunter (2019), Isaiah Wilkins (2018), Malcolm Brogdon (2016), and Darion Atkins (2015). 

As determined by a vote of a 75-person panel consisting of the ACC's 15 head coaches plus 60 media members, Beekman received 29 votes for Defensive Player of the Year, beating out North Carolina's Leaky Black (18 votes) for the award. 

Beekman was also the leading vote-getter for the ACC All-Defensive Team with 63 votes, while Kihei Clark also made the ACC All-Defensive Team with 26 votes. This is the second season in a row that Beekman has been selected to the ACC All-Defensive Team. 

Both Clark and Beekman were also selected to the All-ACC Third Team. Virginia fifth-year forward Jayden Gardner was named an All-ACC honorable mention. This is the second All-ACC Third Team selection for Clark, who was also an All-ACC honorable mention in both the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. 

Additionally, Ben Vander Plas finished second in the voting for ACC Sixth Man of the Year, which went to Pitt's Nike Sibande. Boston College's Quinten Post was named the ACC's Most Improved Player. Pitt's Jeff Capel was named the ACC Coach of the Year. Duke's Kyle Filipowski was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. Miami's Isaiah Wong was voted the ACC Player of the Year. 

See the full results of the 2022-2023 ACC Men's Basketball season honors here. 

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN

See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated

Published
Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

Share on XFollow mattynewtss
Home/Basketball