INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - University of Maryland Eastern Shore senior forward Michael Myers Jr. capped a stellar senior campaign today, being honored as the recipient of the Riley Wallace Player of the Year Award. The award is presented annually to the top transfer player in Division I college basketball.

The award is named after legendary coach Riley Wallace, who, during his career at the University of Hawaii welcomed many transfers to his program, which propelled him to the winningest coach in Hawaii history.

"I am blessed to win this recognition," said Myers via social media posts from the event where he accepted the award. "I want to thank all the people who supported me throughout my career. I really appreciate it a lot. It is such an honor to win this award."

The award was presented at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet held in Indianapolis, the site of the 2015 men's final four. The banquet was held at the Hyatt Regency, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) headquarters hotel.

It is selected by a 15-member panel, consisting of five current Division I head coaches, five members of the national media and five collegeinsider.com staff members. Wallace is the chairman of the awards committee that votes on the recipient. Eligible players include transfers from other DI programs, the JUCO ranks and all other levels of college basketball.

The award is traditionally presented to the transfer with the biggest impact on their program. That impact was felt in the current Hawks' season, the best since 1973-74, ending in a post-season appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. It was the first NCAA post-season tournament appearance for UMES since that same 73-74 season when they made the second-round of the NIT.

Mike Myers receives his award from Angelo Lento of Collegeinsider.com

Myers, led the team in both scoring (15.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 rebounds per game). The senior finished the season with the third-most free throw attempts in the nation (282) and eleventh in the NCAA in field goal percentage (59.3%). Myers was also named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award for the National Mid-Major Player of the Year, also given out by CollegeInsider.com. The Camden, N.J. native has been recognized for his fantastic season, including All-MEAC honors from the league and several publications. Recently, he was named to the NABC All-District First-Team and has earned both Lou Henson and Riley Wallace All-America honors.

"Congratulations to Mike," said assistant coach Trevor Deloach. "I am glad to have had a chance to coach such a special player."

Head Coach Bobby Collins, who was in attendance at the event, also posted his congratulations to Myers on his social media account. He spoke via phone on his player's accomplishments. "Mike Myers is a special player," said Collins. "He deserves this award. It is really a great vindication of his effort, hard work, accomplishments and his contributions to the UMES Men's Basketball program."

Myers was among 27 nominees for the award. Players range from mid-major programs like fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) player Jeff Short from Norfolk State and Deville Smith from UT-Martin, a final four team in the CIT. Others include ACC powers Miami (Sheldon McClellan) and N.C. State (Trevor Lacey). Others include prominent teams from the 2015 NCAA Tournament, such as Bryan Forbes of Michigan State and Kyle Wiltjer of Gonzaga.

Wallace, whom the award is named after, guided Hawaii to nine post-season appearances, including a school-record streak of four straight from 2001-04. The Warriors appeared in NCAA Tournament three times under Wallace and have been invited to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) on six occasions. Prior to his arrival, the program had just one NCAA Appearance and two trips to the NIT. Wallace won 349 games in 22 seasons as head coach at Hawaii and Centenary, 20 with the Rainbow Warriors.