Has any institution had a conference player of the year, in any sport, from a team that did not finish in the top half of their conference standings?

We recently had a softball player win conference Player of the Year despite her team finishing seventh in a nine-team league. Im wondering, has any institution had a conference player of the year, in any sport, from a team that did not finish in the top half of their conference standings?  Email Guy Harrison at hguy@nova.edu