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All-Southern Conference men’s basketball teams announced
Coaches, media select individual awards and all-conference teams
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina redshirt senior guard Vonterius Woolbright was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year as the league announced its 2023-24 men’s basketball postseason awards Wednesday. Selections were made by the leagues’ head coaches and media representatives from each of the 10 member institutions.
Samford head coach Bucky McMillan was named Anton Foy Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Bulldogs guard Rylan Jones was named SoCon Newcomer of the Year and Chattanooga forward Jan Zidek was named SoCon Sixth Man of the Year. UNCG’s Kobe Langley was voted SoCon Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
The 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship begins Friday at 5 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina, and will be broadcast on ESPN+. Saturday’s quarterfinals will appear on ESPN+ as well as select Nexstar affiliates. Sunday’s semifinals will air live on ESPNU, and the championship game is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
All-Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Teams
Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Newcomer of the Year
Rylan Jones, Gr., G, Samford
Sixth Man of the Year
Jan Zidek, Gr., F, Chattanooga
Defensive Player of the Year
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Anton Foy Coach of the Year
Bucky McMillan, Samford
First team
JP Pegues, Jr., G, Furman
Mikeal Brown-Jones, Sr., F, UNCG
Achor Achor, Jr., F, Samford
Trey Bonham, Sr., G, Chattanooga
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Second team
Marcus Foster, Sr., G, Furman
Jalyn McCreary, Sr., F, Mercer
Keyshaun Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Honor Huff, So., G, Chattanooga
Corey Tripp, Jr., G, Wofford
Third team
Jaden Seymour, Jr., F, ETSU
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Rylan Jones, Gr., G, Samford
A.J. Staton-McCray, Jr., G, Samford
Sam Alexis, So., F/C, Chattanooga
All-Defensive team
Quentin Millora-Brown, Gr., F, The Citadel
Jadyn Parker, Jr., F, ETSU
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
A.J. Staton-McCray, Jr., G, Samford
Sam Alexis, So., F/C, Chattanooga
Notes
- Vonterius Woolbright is Western Carolina’s first player of the year since Bobby Phillips was honored by the coaches in 1997-98. Frankie King (1994-95) and Anquell McCollum (1995-96) were the last Catamounts to be named consensus player of the year from the coaches and the media. Woolbright leads the NCAA in triple-doubles (5) and double-doubles (26). He leads the SoCon in scoring (21.4 ppg), rebounding (12.1 rpg) and minutes (34.6 mpg).
- Woolbright has helped the Catamounts to a 22-9 overall record and a 11-7 league mark, helping the program to just its second 20-win season as an NCAA Division I program – and the first since 2009-10. Western Carolina is the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship.
- Woolbright was named SoCon Player of the Week nine times this season, breaking SoCon Hall of Famer Steph Curry’s record of eight which was set in the 2008-09 season. Woolbright was the SoCon Player of the Month in November, December and January.
- Of the five first-team all-conference recipients, four were not all-conference players a season ago. Furman’s JP Pegues, UNCG’s Mikeal Brown-Jones and Samford’s Achor Achor all played in the last year, while Chattanooga’s Trey Bonham transferred back into the league after playing two seasons at VMI from 2020-22. Woolbright was a second-team selection in 2022-23.
- Senior guard Kobe Langley is UNCG’s sixth defensive player of the year in the last seven seasons, a streak interrupted by Furman’s Jalen Slawson in 2021-22. Langley, who also was also voted as a third-team all-conference selection, leads the conference in total steals (71) and steals per game (2.3), standing as the only player in the SoCon that averages over two steals per game. Langley also leads the SoCon in assists per game (5.7), which ranks 27th in NCAA Division I.
- Samford’s Rylan Jones, a third-team all-conference selection, is the first recipient of the SoCon Newcomer of the Year award. Jones leads the league in assist/turnover ratio and is sixth in the country in that category (3.56). Chattanooga’s Jan Zidek is the first recipient of the SoCon Sixth Man of the Year. Zidek came off the bench in the first 17 conference games this season, averaging 10.5 points per game in SoCon contests.
- Samford’s Bucky McMillan became the first coach to be named Anton Foy Coach of the Year in three straight seasons since Davidson’s Terry Holland achieved the feat from 1969-72. McMillan guided the Bulldogs to a 26-5 overall record and 15-3 SoCon mark, giving Samford its first outright regular-season crown in men’s basketball since joining the SoCon in 2008. The Bulldogs enter the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed, their highest ever.
- Between the all-conference teams and the all-defensive team, nine of the 10 squads had at least one representative.
Samford head coach Bucky McMillan was named Anton Foy Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Bulldogs guard Rylan Jones was named SoCon Newcomer of the Year and Chattanooga forward Jan Zidek was named SoCon Sixth Man of the Year. UNCG’s Kobe Langley was voted SoCon Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
The 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship begins Friday at 5 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina, and will be broadcast on ESPN+. Saturday’s quarterfinals will appear on ESPN+ as well as select Nexstar affiliates. Sunday’s semifinals will air live on ESPNU, and the championship game is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
All-Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Teams
Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Newcomer of the Year
Rylan Jones, Gr., G, Samford
Sixth Man of the Year
Jan Zidek, Gr., F, Chattanooga
Defensive Player of the Year
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Anton Foy Coach of the Year
Bucky McMillan, Samford
First team
JP Pegues, Jr., G, Furman
Mikeal Brown-Jones, Sr., F, UNCG
Achor Achor, Jr., F, Samford
Trey Bonham, Sr., G, Chattanooga
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Second team
Marcus Foster, Sr., G, Furman
Jalyn McCreary, Sr., F, Mercer
Keyshaun Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Honor Huff, So., G, Chattanooga
Corey Tripp, Jr., G, Wofford
Third team
Jaden Seymour, Jr., F, ETSU
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Rylan Jones, Gr., G, Samford
A.J. Staton-McCray, Jr., G, Samford
Sam Alexis, So., F/C, Chattanooga
All-Defensive team
Quentin Millora-Brown, Gr., F, The Citadel
Jadyn Parker, Jr., F, ETSU
Kobe Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
A.J. Staton-McCray, Jr., G, Samford
Sam Alexis, So., F/C, Chattanooga
Notes
- Vonterius Woolbright is Western Carolina’s first player of the year since Bobby Phillips was honored by the coaches in 1997-98. Frankie King (1994-95) and Anquell McCollum (1995-96) were the last Catamounts to be named consensus player of the year from the coaches and the media. Woolbright leads the NCAA in triple-doubles (5) and double-doubles (26). He leads the SoCon in scoring (21.4 ppg), rebounding (12.1 rpg) and minutes (34.6 mpg).
- Woolbright has helped the Catamounts to a 22-9 overall record and a 11-7 league mark, helping the program to just its second 20-win season as an NCAA Division I program – and the first since 2009-10. Western Carolina is the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship.
- Woolbright was named SoCon Player of the Week nine times this season, breaking SoCon Hall of Famer Steph Curry’s record of eight which was set in the 2008-09 season. Woolbright was the SoCon Player of the Month in November, December and January.
- Of the five first-team all-conference recipients, four were not all-conference players a season ago. Furman’s JP Pegues, UNCG’s Mikeal Brown-Jones and Samford’s Achor Achor all played in the last year, while Chattanooga’s Trey Bonham transferred back into the league after playing two seasons at VMI from 2020-22. Woolbright was a second-team selection in 2022-23.
- Senior guard Kobe Langley is UNCG’s sixth defensive player of the year in the last seven seasons, a streak interrupted by Furman’s Jalen Slawson in 2021-22. Langley, who also was also voted as a third-team all-conference selection, leads the conference in total steals (71) and steals per game (2.3), standing as the only player in the SoCon that averages over two steals per game. Langley also leads the SoCon in assists per game (5.7), which ranks 27th in NCAA Division I.
- Samford’s Rylan Jones, a third-team all-conference selection, is the first recipient of the SoCon Newcomer of the Year award. Jones leads the league in assist/turnover ratio and is sixth in the country in that category (3.56). Chattanooga’s Jan Zidek is the first recipient of the SoCon Sixth Man of the Year. Zidek came off the bench in the first 17 conference games this season, averaging 10.5 points per game in SoCon contests.
- Samford’s Bucky McMillan became the first coach to be named Anton Foy Coach of the Year in three straight seasons since Davidson’s Terry Holland achieved the feat from 1969-72. McMillan guided the Bulldogs to a 26-5 overall record and 15-3 SoCon mark, giving Samford its first outright regular-season crown in men’s basketball since joining the SoCon in 2008. The Bulldogs enter the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed, their highest ever.
- Between the all-conference teams and the all-defensive team, nine of the 10 squads had at least one representative.