Frank Mason III Wins 2016-17 Naismith Trophy

Kansas guard Frank Mason III has won the 2016-17 Naismith Trophy, an award given to the best college basketball player in the country, per the team's official Twitter account.

Mason led the Big 12 in scoring at 20.9 points per game to go with 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest.

The senior led the Jayhawks to their 13th consecutive regular-season title in the Big 12 as well as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They reached the Elite Eight before falling to Oregon.

"Frank has had a terrific four years at Kansas, one in which he has become better and matured each year, culminating with the best season of any player ... that I've coached and he's deserving of the Naismith Trophy," head coach Bill Self said, per the team's official site.

He never averaged more than 12.9 points per game in his career before making the leap to stardom in his final season.

Josh Hart of Villanova, Caleb Swanigan of Purdue and Lonzo Ball of UCLA were the other finalists for the prestigious award.

Mason has also been named the Associated Press Player of the Year and winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy among other honors.