Fresh off a regular season where he set a new American Athletic Conference single-season steals record, tied a USF single-game steals record and finished seventh in the NCAA in steals per game, redshirt junior Laquincy Rideau was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday.
The West Palm Beach native is the first player in USF’s 48-year history to win a conference defensive player of the year award.
Rideau led the AAC with 2.9 steals per game and set the conference's single-game record with 10 steals in a road loss to Temple on January 12, a game where he also registered USF’s first-ever triple-double (18 points, 10 assists and 10 steals) in a conference contest.