Iowa center Luka Garza was named the National Player of the Year by Sporting News on Tuesday, becoming the first player in men’s program history to earn national player of the year distinction by a news outlet.

This accolade comes one day after being named the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.

“It’s obviously a dream come true,” Garza said. “It’s something that you work for your entire life. Going to college, I never could have envisioned anything like this. It’s definitely an honor. All the thanks goes to my teammates and coaches. I wouldn’t be here without them, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t come to the University of Iowa.”

Garza is a finalist for five national awards: Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and the Nate Lute Olson Award.

The junior finished the 20-game conference schedule averaging 26.2 points per game to become Iowa’s first scoring leader in the Big Ten games since Adam Haluska (21.3 ppg) in 2007.

Garza is Iowa’s single-season scoring record holder with 740 points, breaking the program’s 50-year old record previously set by John Johnson in 1970. He scored 20 or more points in a school-record 16 straight games, the longest streak by any player in the Big Ten since Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson with 16 in 1987.

“I knew coming here I would be able to do something special, but nothing like this,” Garza said. “So it’s definitely just an honor. Like I said, if [Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery] didn’t give me an opportunity to play here and I wasn’t in this style, this system, I don’t think any of this would have happened.

“I’m just really thankful for my teammates and obviously my family who supported me along the way and helped me improve. I’m going to keep pushing. I’m never really satisfied. No matter how many accolades I get, that’s never going to stop me from chasing my dreams.”