Florida State freshman Matthew Cleveland, the only player in the ACC to average in double figure scoring while starting fewer than 10 games, has been named the ACC Men’s Basketball Sixth Man of the Year by a blue ribbon voting panel and announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Cleveland becomes the fourth consecutive Seminole to win the award as he follows in footsteps of NBA first round draft picks Mfiondu Kabengele (2019), Patrick Williams (2020) and Scottie Barnes (2021).
The ACC Sixth Man of the Year Award was established in 2014 and has been won by a Seminole player in four of the nine years it has been awarded.
Cleveland has come off the bench in 20 of 28 games, with eight starting assignments. He was moved into Florida State’s starting lineup on February 2 because of injuries to each member of the Seminoles’ starting five. Injuries and illnesses have caused eight different Seminole players to miss a total of 50 games.
Cleveland, who averages 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, has been named the ACC Freshman of the Week twice during his first season as a Seminole (January 3 and February 28). He is Florida State’s leader in field goals made (127), free throws made (60), offensive rebounds (41), and total rebounds (129).
Cleveland enters the ACC Tournament with a career-best eight game double figure scoring streak during which he is averaging 14.3 points scored per game.
