Melbourne Stars' wicketkeeper-batter Sam Harper has been named the player of the tournament in the BBL after an impressive season at the top of the order. At 29 years, Harper celebrated his 100th BBL match this season and had a career-best performance in his ninth year in the league. During the home and away season, he racked up 371 runs at an average of 61.83, with a strike rate of 155.23. This included his first BBL century against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG, along with two other half-centuries. In his previous eight seasons, including five with the Melbourne Renegades before being traded to the Stars in a deal that sent Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa to the Renegades, Harper had never averaged more than 25.36 or had a strike rate higher than 144.55 in a single season. He had only managed to score three half-centuries in a season once before, back in 2022-23. The BBL player of the tournament is determined by a 3-2-1 voting system awarded by the on-field umpires for each game. Harper finished with 16 votes, just one ahead of Sydney Thunder captain David Warner, who had a fantastic finish to the season with two centuries. Adelaide Strikers all-rounder Liam Scott also finished tied for second with Warner after a breakout season with both bat and ball. Two other bowling all-rounders, Jack Edwards from the Sixers and Harper's teammate Tom Curran from the Stars, ended up tied for fourth with 14 votes. Earlier this season, Harper mentioned that he had found his best form by staying more still at the crease and keeping all areas of the ground open for scoring. He credited Stars captain Marcus Stoinis as a key sounding board, having previously struggled with overthinking his approach. Also Read | Watch: OUT or NOT OUT? Joel Davies’ Wicket That Stopped the BBL Final BBL Player of the Tournament Winners List Season Player of the Tournament Winner 2011-12 David Hussey (Melbourne Stars) 2012-13 Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades) 2013-14 Ben Dunk (Hobart Hurricanes) 2014-15 Jacques Kallis (Sydney Thunder) 2015-16 Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat) 2016-17 Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat) 2017-18 D’Arcy Short (Hobart Hurricanes) 2018-19 D’Arcy Short (Hobart Hurricanes) 2019-20 Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars) 2020-21 Josh Philippe (Sydney Sixers) 2021-22 Ben McDermott (Hobart Hurricanes) 2022-23 Matthew Short (Adelaide Strikers) 2023-24 Matthew Short (Adelaide Strikers) 2024-25 Cooper Connolly (Perth Scorchers) & Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars) 2025-26 Sam Harper (Melbourne Stars)