Christian Shumate is headed to San Antonio, while Javohn Garcia is staying in Lake Charles.

The two headline a busy few days for McNeese State men’s basketball.

Shumate, a four-year starter for the Cowboys, has been selected to participate in the King’s Hawaiian Slam Dunk Championship on Thursday, the eve of the Final Four.

It is part of the Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. The 6-foot-6 Shumate will be one of six players in the competition, which will be live on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. Lake Charles time.

Shumate led McNeese this season with 47 dunks, nicknamed ShuSlams, and had four in the Cowboys’ historic first NCAA Tournament win over Clemson this month.

Meanwhile, Garcia announced he was returning to McNeese for a third season.

The guard has turned himself into one of the best players in the Southland Conference in his time as a Cowboy.

“We are really excited Javohn is coming back,” said Armstrong. “He is a big

Garcia became the first Cowboy to publicly say he will stay at McNeese through the coaching change.

Last week, Bill Armstrong was named the Cowboys’ new head coach. He follows in the footsteps of his good friend Will Wade, who left after two seasons for North Carolina State.

After transferring from the College of the Sequoias, Garcia has helped the Cowboys win back-to-back SLC championships and go 58-11.

After a ruling to not count junior college seasons, the NCAA granted Garcia an extra year of eligibility.

Garcia, who spent his first two seasons at UMass, was named the Player of the Year in the Southland after helping McNeese to a 19-1 conference record. He made big plays down the stretch of key conference wins.

The 6-foot-3 guard started all 35 games for the Cowboys last year and was the MVP of the Southland postseason tournament. He led the club in scoring 12.6 per game while shuffling between the point and shooting guard positions.

Point guard T’Johnn Brown, who gave up his redshirt last season when Omar Cooper went down, also announced he would return. That helped stabilize the backcourt when the season was still in flux. Brown averaged 4.5 points while starting one game and appearing in 22.

One player who wants to come back is forward Joe Charles, but it is unknown if the NCAA will grant him a fifth season. A ruling may not come out until mid-summer, limiting his chances of return.

According to reports, Armstrong has started hiring his coaching staff. Both have ties to the McNeese head coach.

Nick Williams comes over from Southern Miss. and played two years at Old Miss when Armstrong was coaching there. LeBrent Walker spent four years with Armstrong and Wade at LSU. Walker moves over from Florida A&M.

This comes after Armstrong made his first big splash, getting a commitment from Jacolb Fredson-Cole. Last Friday, Cole announced on social media that he was committed to McNeese and would be here after the semester. He played for Armstrong three seasons ago at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.