Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the Southland Conference
CountryUnited States
History
First award1964
Most recentShahada Wells, McNeese

The Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Southland Conference's (SLC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the conference's inaugural basketball season of 1963–64. Five players have won the award two times: Jerry Rook, Larry Jeffries, Andrew Toney, Ryan Stuart and Thomas Walkup. No player has ever won three times. McNeese has the most all-time winners with nine. Among current SLC members, four have never had a winner: Houston Christian and Incarnate Word, both of which joined in 2013; East Texas A&M, which joined in 2022; and UTRGV, which is playing its first SLC season in 2024–25.

Key

† Co-Players of the Year
* Awarded a national player of the year award:
Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79)
UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96)
Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present)
John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present)
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Southland Player of the Year award at that point

Winners

Jerry Rook, Arkansas State, 1964 and 1965
Bo Lamar, Louisiana, 1972
Andrew Toney, Louisiana, 1978 and 1980
Karl Malone, Louisiana Tech, 1983
Joe Dumars, McNeese, 1985
Donte Mathis, Texas State, 1999
Demond Mallet, McNeese, 2001
MarQuez Haynes, UT Arlington, 2010
Patrick Richard, McNeese, 2012
Taylor Smith, Stephen F. Austin, 2013
Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin, 2015 and 2016
Jordan Howard, Central Arkansas, 2018
Season Player School Position Class Reference
1963–64 Jerry Rook Arkansas State F Junior [1]
1964–65 Jerry Rook (2) Arkansas State F Senior [2]
1965–66 John Dickson Arkansas State C Senior [3]
1966–67 Larry Jeffries Trinity F Sophomore [4]
1967–68 John Ray Godfrey Abilene Christian G Senior [5]
1968–69 Larry Jeffries (2) Trinity F Senior [6]
1969–70 Kenny Haynes Lamar G Senior [7]
1970–71† Luke Adams Lamar F Senior [8]
Allan Pruett Arkansas State G Senior [8]
1971–72 Bo Lamar Louisiana SG Junior [9]
1972–73 Mike Green Louisiana Tech C Senior [10]
1973–74 Steve Brooks Arkansas State C Senior [11]
1974–75 Henry Ray McNeese F Sophomore [12]
1975–76 Mike McConathy Louisiana Tech SG Junior [13]
1976–77 Dan Henderson Arkansas State C Senior [14]
1977–78 Andrew Toney Louisiana G Sophomore [1]
1978–79 David Lawrence McNeese PF Junior [1]
1979–80 Andrew Toney (2) Louisiana G Senior [1]
1980–81 Mike Olliver Lamar PG Senior [15]
1981–82 Albert Culton UT Arlington SF Senior [16]
1982–83 Karl Malone Louisiana Tech PF Freshman [17]
1983–84 Tom Sewell Lamar SG Junior [18]
1984–85 Joe Dumars McNeese PG / SG Senior [19]
1985–86 Bobby Jenkins Louisiana–Monroe F Senior [20]
1986–87 Jerome Batiste McNeese F Senior [21]
1987–88 Tony Worrell North Texas F Senior [22]
1988–89 Deon Hunter North Texas PG Senior [23]
1989–90 Anthony Pullard McNeese C Senior [24]
1990–91† Carlos Funchess Louisiana–Monroe PG / SG Senior [25]
Anthony Jones Louisiana–Monroe F Senior [25]
1991–92 Ryan Stuart Louisiana–Monroe SF Junior [26]
1992–93 Ryan Stuart (2) Louisiana–Monroe SF Senior [27]
1993–94 Eric Kubel Northwestern State C Senior [28]
1994–95 Reggie Jackson Nicholls SG Senior [29]
1995–96 Paul Marshall Louisiana–Monroe SG Junior [30]
1996–97 Rosell Ellis McNeese F Senior [31]
1997–98 Roderic Hall UTSA G Sophomore [32]
1998–99 Donte Mathis Texas State PG Senior [33]
1999–00 Mike Smith Louisiana–Monroe PF Senior [34]
2000–01 Demond Mallet McNeese PG Senior [35]
2001–02 McEverett Powers UTSA PF Senior [36]
2002–03 Donald Cole Sam Houston State SF Sophomore [37]
2003–04 LeRoy Hurd UTSA SF Senior [38]
2004–05 Joe Thompson Sam Houston State SF / SG Sophomore [39]
2005–06 Ricky Woods Southeastern Louisiana F Junior [40]
2006–07 Chris Daniels Texas A&M–Corpus Christi C Junior [41]
2007–08 Josh Alexander Stephen F. Austin SF Junior [42]
2008–09 Matt Kingsley Stephen F. Austin C Senior [43]
2009–10 MarQuez Haynes UT Arlington G Senior [44]
2010–11 Gilberto Clavell Sam Houston State SF Senior [45]
2011–12 Patrick Richard McNeese SG / SF Senior [46]
2012–13 Taylor Smith Stephen F. Austin PF Senior [47]
2013–14 Jacob Parker Stephen F. Austin PF Junior [48]
2014–15 Thomas Walkup Stephen F. Austin SG / SF Junior [49]
2015–16 Thomas Walkup (2) Stephen F. Austin SG / SF Senior [49]
2016–17 Erik Thomas New Orleans PF Senior [50]
2017–18 Jordan Howard Central Arkansas SG Senior [51]
2018–19 Cameron Delaney Sam Houston State SG Senior [52]
2019–20 Kevon Harris Stephen F. Austin SG Senior [53]
2020–21 Zach Nutall Sam Houston State SG Junior [54]
2021–22 Ty Gordon Nicholls PG Graduate [55]
2022–23 DeMarcus Sharp Northwestern State PG Senior [56]
2023–24 Shahada Wells McNeese SG Graduate [57]

Winners by school

School (year joined) Winners Years
McNeese (1972) 9 1975, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2012, 2024
Louisiana–Monroe[a] 7 1986, 1991 (×2)†, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000
Stephen F. Austin (1987/2024)[b] 7 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020
Arkansas State (1963)[c] 6 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971†, 1974, 1977
Sam Houston State (1987)[b] 5 2003, 2005, 2011, 2019, 2021
Lamar (1963/1999/2022)[d] 4 1970, 1971†, 1981, 1984
Louisiana Tech[e] 3 1973, 1976, 1983
Louisiana[f] 3 1972, 1978, 1980
UTSA (1991)[g] 3 1998, 2002, 2004
Nicholls (1991) 2 1995, 2022
North Texas[h] 2 1988, 1989
Northwestern State (1987) 2 1994, 2023
Trinity (1963)[i] 2 1967, 1969
UT Arlington (1963)[j] 2 1982, 2010
Abilene Christian (1963/2013)[k] 1 1968
Central Arkansas (2006)[b] 1 2018
New Orleans (2013) 1 2017
Southeastern Louisiana (1997) 1 2006
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (2006) 1 2007
Texas State (1987)[j] 1 1999
East Texas A&M (2022)[l] 0 —
Houston Christian (2013)[m] 0 —
Incarnate Word (2013) 0 —
Oral Roberts (2012)[n] 0 —
UT Rio Grande Valley (2024) 0 —
  1. ^ The University of Louisiana at Monroe left in 2005 to join its football team in the Sun Belt Conference.
  2. ^ a b c Five schools left the conference in 2021. In addition to Abilene Christian and Lamar, which left for the second time, the University of Central Arkansas joined the Atlantic Sun Conference, and Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Sam Houston has since joined Conference USA (CUSA). Lamar returned to the SLC in 2022, and Stephen F. Austin returned in 2024.
  3. ^ Arkansas State University left to form the American South Conference in 1987. The Red Wolves are now in the Sun Belt Conference.
  4. ^ Lamar University left in 1987 to form the American South Conference, later competing in the Sun Belt Conference and as an independent before returning to the Southland in 1999. Lamar left again in 2021, this time for the WAC, but rejoined the SLC the next year.
  5. ^ Louisiana Tech University left in 1987 to form the American South Conference. The Bulldogs (and Lady Techsters) are now in CUSA.
  6. ^ The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), then known as Southwestern Louisiana, left in 1982 to become an independent. ULL is now in the Sun Belt Conference, and brands its athletic program solely as "Louisiana".
  7. ^ The University of Texas at San Antonio left in 2012 to join the WAC. The Roadrunners spent only one season in the WAC before joining CUSA, and have since joined the American Athletic Conference.
  8. ^ The University of North Texas left to join the Big West Conference in 1996. The Mean Green moved from there to CUSA and then The American.
  9. ^ Trinity College (now Trinity University) was a founding member in 1963, but departed in 1971. The Tigers are now in the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
  10. ^ a b The University of Texas at Arlington (now athletically branded as "UT Arlington") and Texas State University (then officially known as Texas State University–San Marcos) left in 2012 to join the WAC. Both schools spent only one season in the WAC before joining the Sun Belt Conference; UT Arlington rejoined the WAC in 2022.
  11. ^ Abilene Christian College was also a founding member, but departed in 1973. After 40 years in Division II Lone Star Conference, Abilene Christian (now a "University") returned to Division I and the Southland Conference in 2013 before leaving again in 2021, this time for the WAC.
  12. ^ Known as Texas A&M University–Commerce until November 7, 2024.
  13. ^ Known as Houston Baptist University until September 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Oral Roberts University left the Southland Conference in 2014, returning to its previous home of The Summit League.

References

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  2. ^ "Rook Voted Southland's Top Player". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. March 21, 1965. p. 30. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Polk Honored As Top Coach In Southland". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Tyler, Texas. March 24, 1966. p. 26. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Coach of Year". Northwest Arkansas Times. Fayetteville, Arkansas. March 11, 1967. p. 6. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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