Central Arkansas’ Jordan Howard headlines All-Southland Men’s Basketball teams as Player of the Year

Ten schools represented between the three all-conference teams

FRISCO, Texas – Central Arkansas’ senior guard Jordan Howard is the 2018 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, the league announced Monday along with its all-conference teams. Southland yearly awards are presented by Ready Nutrition.

Howard, a senior from Chandler, Ariz., is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.8 points per game heading into the 2018 Southland Basketball Tournament this week. In league games this year, Howard led all scorers with a 26.4 point average and shot 91.9 percent from the free-throw line. A career year for Howard, he etched his name into the Southland record book when he became the all-time leader for three-point field goals made. He currently has 377 triples in his four-year career. Howard becomes the third men’s basketball player to win both the Southland Player of the Year award and Freshman of the Year honor (2015) in their career.

Nicholls claims two individual superlatives in Roddy Peters garnering the Newcomer of the Year award while head coach Richie Riley led his squad to a co-regular season championship en route to being named Coach of the Year. Southeastern Louisiana’s Marlain Veal is the Defensive Player of the Year, and Houston Baptist’s David Caraher wins Freshman of the Year.

In his first year in a Colonels’ uniform, Peters averaged 19.7 points per game in league action to rank second in the conference and was fourth in the Southland for assists per game with a 4.4 average. Riley, a second-year head coach, led his Colonels to their first Southland championship since 1998 and a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.

Veal led the Southland in steals during conference competition, averaging 2.2 a game. The Lions finished first in the league in scoring defense (65.7) and were third in field goal percentage defense (.420).

Caraher, a third team all-conference selection, ranked in the top five of the league in scoring and rebounding in conference action. He was fourth in scoring with 18.1 points per game and fifth in rebounding with 7.6 a game. Caraher is the only player to accomplish this feat.

Howard leads the all-conference first team, earning his third All-Southland selection. Veal, Lamar’s Colton Weisbrod and Stephen F. Austin’s TJ Holyfield each earned their second selection.

The Lumberjacks earned a trio of selections to lead the league while the Lions, Colonels and McNeese each secured two picks on the teams. UCA, Sam Houston State, Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston Baptist and Northwestern State each garnered one spot.

All-conference teams and individual awards are nominated and voted upon by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. Voting for oneself or one’s own players/coaches is not permitted. To receive honorable mention, a player must appear on at least 25 percent of ballots.

Player of the Year: Jordan Howard, Central Arkansas

Defensive Player of the Year: Marlain Veal, Southeastern Louisiana

Freshman of the Year: David Caraher, Houston Baptist

Newcomer of the Year: Roddy Peters, Nicholls

Coach of the Year: Richie Riley, Nicholls

2017-18 All-Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Teams

² indicates two-time all-conference selection

³ indicates three-time all-conference selection

Honorable Mention: Jalone Friday, Abilene Christian; Nick Garth, Lamar; John Dewey III, Sam Houston State; Mathieu Kamba, Central Arkansas; Josh Nzeakor, Lamar; Jaren Lewis, Abilene Christian; Shawn Johnson, UIW.