SFA’s Walkup Named Player of the Year for Second Consecutive Season
Southland Conference
Southland Tournament Central
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin senior guard/forward Thomas Walkup has been named the 2015-16 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced Monday in conjunction with the release of the all-conference basketball teams.
Among the league’s other postseason award winners are Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior forward Rashawn Thomas, who was named the defensive player of the year, Abilene Christian rookie guard Jaylen Franklin, who was picked as the freshman of the year, Central Arkansas junior guard Derreck Brooks, who was tabbed as the newcomer of the year, and Stephen F. Austin mentor Brad Underwood, who was selected as the coach of the year.
Walkup helped lead the Lumberjacks to their fourth consecutive Southland regular-season championship and their sixth overall. The guard/forward from Pasadena, Texas (Deer Park H.S.), is averaging 17.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals to pace SFA. Among the conference leaders, Walkup is highly ranked in several statistical categories, including second in steals and field goal percentage (.595), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), fourth in rebounds, fifth in assists and seventh in scoring. He was even more productive against conference opponents, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.2 stats in league play. Walkup record seven double-doubles on the season, including a triple-double Feb. 29 at UIW. With his 12 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, Walkup became the first Southland player to record a triple-double since 2011. The two-time conference player of the week is the first Lumberjack to earn the award two years in a row and it is the fourth-straight year an SFA player took home the league’s top honor. Walkup is the third player and first since Ryan Stuart (Louisiana-Monroe, 1992-93) to win the award in consecutive years.
SFA also took home its fourth consecutive coach of the year award and the third in a row for Underwood. In his third year in Nacogdoches, Underwood led the Lumberjacks to another perfect 18-0 record in league play and an overall 25-5 record to help SFA wins its fourth straight regular-season crown. Underwood now boasts a career record of 86-13, and an unprecedented 53-1 record in conference games. While SFA, Underwood has a 44-1 all-time record at William R. Johnson Coliseum. Underwood’s squad is riding an 18-game winning streak heading into the conference tournament, which is the third-longest streak in school history. Underwood is the first coach in conference history to win three consecutive coach of the year honors.
In his third season at A&M-Corpus Christi, Thomas was named the Southland’s top defender, an award in just its fourth year. The 6-foot-8 junior forward from Oklahoma City, Okla., (Southeast H.S.), leads the league with 8.1 rebounds per game and ranks second with 2.4 blocks per game, which ranks 29th in the NCAA. Thomas’ 73 blocks this season set an Islander record, giving him 146 blocked shots for his career, which is second-most in school history. His nine double-doubles on the season lead the conference. Thomas had a conference-high of 19 rebounds in a game against Texas State on Dec. 5, 2015, and had the second-most blocks in the league with seven swats against Southeastern Louisiana on Jan. 26, 2016.
On a team with six freshmen on the roster, Franklin showed to be the best in the league, becoming the first ACU player to win a league award since John Ray Godfrey was named player of the year in 1968. The guard from Jacksonville, Ark. (Little Rock Parkview H.S.), led the Wildcats with 16.2 points per game, which was seventh-best in the Southland. Franklin ranked sixth in the Southland with 1.7 steals per game and 14th with a .513 field goal percentage. He led the Wildcats in scoring in 16 of the 28 games this season, and was the top scoring freshman in the league.
Brooks is the first player from Central Arkansas to earn newcomer of the year accolades and the second Bear to earn a postseason accolade, joining teammate Jordan Howard, who was tabbed the freshman of the year last season. The junior from Mesa, Ariz. (Phoenix College), was second in scoring for the Bears on the year with 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Brooks led UCA with 34 steals on the year and was second with 26 blocks and third with 73 assists. Brooks started all 28 games for UCA, averaging 31.0 minutes per contest, and scored in double figures in 16 games, including a high of 29 points against Nicholls on Jan. 23, 2016.
Walkup and Thomas headline the all-conference teams as two of five players named to the first team. Northwestern State junior guard Zeek Woodley joins Walkup and Thomas on the first team along with Houston Baptist senior guard Anthony Odunsi and UCA sophomore guard Jordan Howard. Walkup is earning all-conference recognition for the third consecutive season while Thomas and Woodley are receiving the honor for the second time.
The second team is comprised of UIW senior forward Kyle Hittle, ACU’s Franklin, SFA senior guard Demetrious Floyd and Sam Houston State junior forward/center Aurimas Majauskas and junior guard Dakarai Henderson.
The third-team choices are all first-time selections with Southeastern Louisiana senior guard Zay Jackson, McNeese State junior guard Jamaya Burr, SFA senior guard Glide Geffrard, A&M-Corpus Christi senior guard Hameed Ali and New Orleans junior guard Christavious Gill.
Three all-conference selections also appear on the league’s five-member all-defensive team, including Thomas, Walkup and Ali. Nicholls junior center Liam Thomas and SFA senior guard Trey Pinkney also comprise the all-defensive team. Walkup is making his third consecutive appearance on the team.
Eleven conference teams placed at least one player on the all-conference teams, led by Stephen F. Austin, which landed three players. Sam Houston State and A&M-Corpus Christi each garnered two selections while ACU, UCA, HBU, UIW, McNeese, UNO, Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana all had one all-conference pick.
All three all-conference teams, including eight additional honorable mention selections, and the all-defensive team are listed below.
The 2016 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament will be played this week at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The opening round of the tournament is Wednesday, followed by the second round on Thursday. For the first time, all rounds of the men's tournament will be televised. The first and second rounds along with the semifinals will be available solely on ESPN3, while the championship game will be covered exclusively ESPN2 and WatchESPN. Tickets for the tournament are available through Ticketmaster or at the Merrell Center box office.
2015-16 All-Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Teams
| First Team |
Institution |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Thomas Walkup3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
G/F |
Sr. |
Pasadena, Texas |
| Rashawn Thomas2 |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
F |
Jr. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Zeek Woodley2 |
Northwestern State |
G |
Jr. |
Pelican, La. |
| Anthony Odunsi |
Houston Baptist |
G |
Sr. |
Sugar Land, Texas |
| Jordan Howard |
Central Arkansas |
G |
So. |
Chandler, Ariz. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
Institution |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Kyle Hittle |
UIW |
F |
Sr. |
New Braunfels, Texas |
| Jaylen Franklin |
Abilene Christian |
G |
Fr. |
Jacksonville, Ark. |
| Demetrious Floyd |
Stephen F. Austin |
G |
Sr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| Aurimas Majauskas |
Sam Houston State |
F/C |
Jr. |
Marijampole, Lithuania |
| Dakarai Henderson |
Sam Houston State |
G |
Jr. |
Pearland, Texas |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Third Team |
Institution |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Zay Jackson |
Southeastern La. |
G |
Sr. |
Hammond, La. |
| Jamaya Burr |
McNeese State |
G |
Jr. |
Ruston, La. |
| Glide Geffrard |
Stephen F. Austin |
G |
Sr. |
Pompano Beach, Fla. |
| Hameed Ali |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
G |
Sr. |
Hayward, Calif. |
| Christavious Gill |
New Orleans |
G |
Jr. |
Alexandria, La. |
2 indicates two-time all-conference selection
3 indicates three-time all-conference selection
Honorable Mention: Trey Pinkney, Stephen F. Austin; Craig McFerrin, McNeese State; Mitchell Badillo, UIW; Josh Ibarra, Houston Baptist; Nick Garth, Lamar; T.J. Carpenter, Nicholls; Liam Thomas, Nicholls; Derreck Brooks, Central Arkansas.
| All-Defensive Team |
Institution |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Rashawn Thomas |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
F |
Jr. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Thomas Walkup3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
G/F |
Jr. |
Pasadena, Texas |
| Hameed Ali |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
G |
Sr. |
Hayward, Calif. |
| Liam Thomas |
Nicholls |
C |
Jr. |
Sydney, Australia |
| Trey Pinkney |
Stephen F. Austin |
G |
Sr. |
Katy, Texas |
3 indicates three-time all-defensive team selection
Player of the Year: Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin
Defensive Player of the Year: Rashawn Thomas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Freshman of the Year: Jaylen Franklin, Abilene Christian
Newcomer of the Year: Derreck Brooks, Central Arkansas
Coach of the Year: Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin