South Alabama center Kevin Samuel was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, while guard Isaiah Moore was named first-team All-Sun Belt.

Samuel, a 7-foot senior from Codrington Village, Barbuda, leads the Sun Belt and ranks eighth nationally in blocked shots per game (2.5). He is fourth in the Sun Belt with 8.9 rebounds per game and also averages 10.2 points per game.

It’s the second straight Defensive Player of the Year honor for Samuel, who also won the award in the ASUN Conference at Florida Gulf Coast last season. He is the NCAA’s active leader in both rebounds (1,315) and blocks (377).

Moore, a 6-foot-1 senior from Temple Hills, Md., ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring at 18.5 points per game and is fifth in assists at 4.5 per game. He was a Division II All-American at Franklin Pierce University last season before transferring to Mobile for his final year of eligibility.

Moore has scored in double digits in all but one game this season — an 81-45 blowout of Louisiana-Monroe on Feb. 4, in which he played only 20 minutes and scored eight points. He has scored at least 20 points in 13 games, with a high of 31 against ULM on Feb. 4.

Moore is joined on the All-Sun Belt first team by Louisiana forward Jordan Brown, Marshall guards Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor and Southern Miss guard Austin Crowley. Kinsey, averaging a league-best 22.2 points per game, was also named the Sun Belt Player of the Year.

Marshall’s Micah Handlogten was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, while James Madison’s Terrence Edwards was chosen Sixth Man of the Year. Southern Miss’ Austin Crowley — an Ole Miss transfer — was named Newcomer of the Year, while the Golden Eagles’ Jay Ladner was selected as Joe Gottfried Coach of the Year.

The All-Sun Belt second-team consists of Edwards, Troy’s Zay Williams, Georgia Southern’s Andrei Savrasov, Louisiana’s Greg Williams and Southern Miss’ Felipe Haase. Zay Williams, a 6-foot-9 senior from Birmingham, leads the Trojans in both scoring (12.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 per game) this season.

Samuel was a third-team All-Sun Belt pick, along with Appalachian State’s Donovan Gregory, ULM’s Jamari Blackmon, Old Dominion’s Chaunce Jenkins, Southern Miss’ DeAndre Pinckney and Texas State’s Mason Harrell. Ties in voting were not broken.

The Sun Belt Conference tournament begins Tuesday in Pensacola, Fla. Here’s the complete schedule (all times Central):

Tuesday, February 28

First round

Game 1: No. 12 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 13 Arkansas State, 5 p.m., ESPN+

Game 2: No. 11 Texas State vs. No. 14 Georgia State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+

Thursday, March 2

Second round

Game 3: No. 8 South Alabama vs. No. 9 Appalachian State, 11:30 a.m., ESPN+

Game 4: No. 5 Troy vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m., ESPN+

Game 5: No. 6 Old Dominion vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN+

Game 6: No. 7 Georgia Southern vs. No. 10 Louisiana-Monroe, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+

Saturday, March 4

Quarterfinals

Game 7: No. 1 Southern Miss vs. Game 3 winner, 11:30 a.m., ESPN+

Game 8: No. 4 James Madison vs. Game 4 winner, 2 p.m., ESPN+

Game 9: No. 3 Marshall vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN+

Game 10: No. 2 Louisiana vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+

Sunday, March 5

Semifinals

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN+

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+

Monday, March 6

Championship game, 6 p.m., ESPN2