The Cowboys continue to make history.

Friday, Javohn Garcia gave McNeese State back-to-back Southland Conference Player of the Year winners the league announced.

Will Wade became the first Cowboy skipper to win consecutive Coach of the Year honors, and Christian Shumate is the first from McNeese in the league to win two straight Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Garcia follows in the footsteps of his good friend Shahada Wells, who won the top SLC award last season in his only year as a Cowboy.

“I learned so much from Hada,” said Garcia. “He showed me when to take over games and when to make sure I got everybody involved. He was a great player.”

Garcia is the 10th Cowboy to earn the award. At times early in the season, when McNeese’s offense would bog down, Garcia would make big plays on both ends of the floor.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard averages 12.6 points per game and 1.5 steals per game, leading the Cowboys in both categories. 

Surprisingly, despite McNeese winning the league by five games with a Southland record of 19-1, Garcia was the only Cowboy named to the first team. Shumate and point guard Quadir Copeland were named to the second team.

“It is a big accomplishment in my life,” said Garcia. “It is great to have all that hard work in the summer pay off. It feels just great.”

Shumate once again led a defense that was tops in the Southland. Wade has called the 6-6 senior “the heart and soul of our team.”

Shumate averages 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots, and 10.5 points per game. During the season, he became the first player in school history to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 assists, and 100 blocked shots. 

He also set a career school record with 132 games played. For the season, he has scored 10 or more points 19 times, pulled down 10 or more rebounds five times, and recorded five double-doubles, giving him a school record 39 in his career and ranking third all-time in league history.

“It is a great feeling to be recognized for my defense again,” said Shumate. “When I came here I was considered a rebounder and defender, and I have worked hard at that. It’s great to be known for that.”

Wade wins his honor for the second straight year after guiding McNeese to a 26-5 regular-season record and a Top 25 spot in most Mid-Major Polls. His Cowboy teams have a 55-10 record over the last two seasons, the most in program history.

Copeland, a transfer from Syracuse, leads McNeese in (138) and assists per game (4.5) while ranked second in the league in both categories. In conference games only, the junior averaged a league-high 5.8 assists. 

He recorded three double-doubles on the year in points and assists and dished out 10 or more dimes three times and five or more in 14 games. He didn’t win the starting job until the conference season got rolling.

One McNeese player seemingly overlooked was Joe Charles, a 6-9 transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette who averaged nine points and seven rebounds a game. He was the most consistent Cowboy all season. 

McNeese will begin defending its Southland Conference Tournament championship Tuesday in the semifinal against one of three teams (Houston Christian, Northwestern State, or Corpus Christi), depending on the outcome of the first two days.

2024-2025 Southland Conference

First Team
Javohn Garcia, McNeese
Gary Clark, A&M Corpus Christi
Sam Hines Jr., Southeastern
Jakevion Buckley, Southeastern
Bryson Dawkins, Houston Christian

2nd Team All-Conference
Quadir Copeland, McNeese
Jamal West Jr., Nicholls
Christian Shumate, McNeese
Addison Patterson, Northwestern
Alexis Marmolejos, Lamar

All-Defensive Team
Christian Shumate, McNeese
Adam Hamilton, Lamar
Jerald Colonel, Northwestern State
Jakevion Buckley, Southeastern
Andrew Holifield, Lamar

Coach of Year
Will Wade, McNeese