USA Basketball names Jalen Brunson 2015 Male Athlete of the Year

The honors continue to roll in for Villanova's Jalen Brunson as USA Basketball named the freshman their Male Athlete Of The Year for 2015.

Brunson won the award anchored in his performance for Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Championships last summer. En route to being named the Tournament's MVP, the Lincolnshire, IL native averaged 14.0 points (tied for team high), 3.3 rebounds and team highs of 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals.

That title was the second straight for the United States U19 program, giving it back-to-back titles for the first time since 1983. Behind Brunson, the Americans have won 18 straight games in the competition. The 2015 gold medal is the second straight for Jalen Brunson as well. He also won the U18 championship in 2014.

Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO/Executive Director noted, "Jalen obviously had a tremendous performance at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship this past summer, and we are proud to recognize his incredible achievements. As the team’s point guard he was the leader for the USA, and when the team needed it most, he stepped up as a scorer as well."

Villanova head coach Jay Wright added via twitter, "This is an incredible honor - Jalen is now among some great names in USA Basketball History!"

Brunson is averaging 10.5 points per game and 3.1 boards per game during his freshman campaign at 'Nova.