A record-breaking social media star in high school turned electrifying college point guard is the 2025 Alabama Sports Writers Association Small College Athlete of the Year.

Tommy Murr, an All-America senior basketball player for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, becomes the second UAH player to win the award in three years, following Chaney Johnson (2023), who transferred from UAH to Auburn.

“I’m truly honored to receive it,” said Murr, who will be honored at the ASWA’s annual Convention June 8 at Jacksonville State. “I’m grateful for the experience and everyone along the journey. I thank God for the opportunity to play and the whole experience, the highs and lows.”

The lows were few and far between.

Murr, an Athens native, transferred to UAH from Lipscomb University prior to the 2023-24 season and became an immediate starter, leading the team with 16.6 points per game and hitting 93.5 of his free throws, second best in NCAA Division II. Before his senior year, new coach Mick Hedgepeth asked Murr to make another move, from the two guard to point guard. It paid off wonderfully for Murr and the Chargers.

Murr was named NABC All-America and the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, leading UAH in scoring (20.8) and assists (5.7) and hitting 93.8 of his free throws.

UAH was ranked No. 3 in the country, finishing 32-2 overall and 24-0 in GSC play, reaching the NCAA South Region Championship game for the eighth time in program history. While working toward his master’s degree in business administration, Murr was also Academic All-GSC.

The Chargers’ lone losses were to eventual national champ Nova Southeastern in their season opener (105-104 in overtime) and the region championship game on Nova’s home court (76-69), winning a school record 32 consecutive games in between.

“There’s a lot of special things that that happened to come into place together to make something very special,” Murr says. “It speaks to the culture here, the character. And honestly, I think, what we wanted to do is we didn’t want to lower the standard. It’s such a storied program, we just want to have our own chapter.”

Just as basketball season was racheting up, Ashleigh Murr, Tommy’s wife, was playing for the UAH volleyball team, which went 26-6 and made its second consecutive appearance in the GSC championship game.

When Murr arrived at UAH, he was already a widely known player in the area. At Lindsay Lane Christian Academy in Athens, where he was coached by his father Steve, a basketball influencer website called Overtime became enamored with Murr and filled the internet with videos.

Can’t blame Overtime for the excitement.

All Murr did in high school – well, since his seventh grade year when he joined the varsity – was score 5,716 points, most in Alabama history and second all-time nationally. He scored 1,506 points as a senior, averaging 44.3 points.

“I guess,” Murr says, “what I was doing in high school was, you know, something people enjoyed.”

There’s more hoops to come. Murr has enlisted an agent and plans to sign in June or July with a team in Europe.