It came as no surprise that when the Sun Belt Conference named their All-Conference team and regular season honors, which player would be named Student-Athlete of the Year.
Cajuns senior Shawn Long was named Student-Athlete of the Year by the league’s 11 head coaches, which was announced on Tuesday morning. The Morgan City native is coming off of a stellar season where he led the league in rebounds, blocked shots per game, and both offensive and defensive boards. Long is currently only four points away from being one of just seven players in NCAA history to have 2,250 points and 1,400 boards in his career.
Long was the sole member of the Ragin Cajuns basketball team to be named to All-Conference, getting on the first team All-Conference squad.
Sun Belt Conference
First Team All-Conference
Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern, Freshman, G, Undeclared)
Josh Hagins (Little Rock, Senior, G, Health Science)
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Senior, F, General Studies)
Majok Deng (UL Monroe, Senior, F, General Studies)
Erick Neal (UT Arlington, Sophomore, G, Broadcast Communications)
Second Team All-Conference
Frank Eaves (Appalachian State, Senior, G, Management)
Anthony Livingston (Arkansas State, Junior, F, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Marcus Johnson Jr. (Little Rock, Junior, G, Criminal Justice)
Justin Roberson (UL Monroe, Senior, G, General Studies)
Wesley Person (Troy, Sophomore, G, Global Business)
Third Team All-Conference
Devin Carter (Arkansas State, Junior, G, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Mike Hughes (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, G, Sport Management)
Roger Woods (Little Rock, Senior, F, Criminal Justice)
Ken Williams (South Alabama, Junior, G, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Emani Gant (Texas State, Senior, F, General Studies)
Student-Athlete of the Year
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Sr., F/C, General Studies)
Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Justin Roberson (UL Monroe, Senior, G, General Studies)
Freshman of the Year
Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern, Freshman, G, Undeclared)
Joe Gottfried Coach of the Year
Chris Beard, Little Rock