SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Graduate student
Hayden Brown (Greer, S.C.) and freshman
Jason Roche (Berkeley, Calif.) made the Southern Conference's (SoCon) year-end list for all-conference, both in the coaches and media voting, as announced by the league today. Roche earned both polls' SoCon Rookie of the Year, while Brown garnered first-team recognition in the media voting and second team for coaches.
Brown and Roche's honors are just the latest for the two, as both were chosen earlier this week to HoopsHD's All-SoCon selections. Roche also earned their Rookie of the Year nod and Brown received one of their two selections at forward. Brown was also chosen the SoCon's final regular season Player of the Week.
Roche leads all NCAA Div. I among freshmen with 106 made threes and 3.7 per game, setting a new freshman school record and standing just eight shy of the all-time program mark. His numbers beyond the arc ranks second in the SoCon and fourth overall in the NCAA. He also leads the SoCon with 35.9 minutes played per game. Roche became the first player in The Citadel basketball history to make at least seven threes in consecutive games, hitting seven at Furman on Feb. 2 and a career-best nine for 29 points in the win versus Samford on Feb. 5. In his career debut at Pitt on Nov. 9 he landed eight threes for a game-high 27 points in the Bulldogs' season-opening win. Roche posted seven games this season with at least five made threes.
Brown ranks atop the SoCon with 9.4 rpg., fourth with 18.5 ppg., and third with a 51.3 field goal percentage (191-372). The Greer, S.C. native became the 36th member of The Citadel's 1,000 points club back on Dec. 16 against St. Andrews. He is the fourth person ever to reach 700 career rebounds and just the third to eclipse both 1,300 points and 700 rebounds. Brown is tied for first all-time with 27 career double-doubles and was voted the SoCon's Preseason Player of the Year and Player of the Month for November. His season bests included scoring 35 points in the win over Samford on Feb. 5 and 19 rebounds in the rematch with Samford on Feb. 23. Both are the second-best totals of his career. He earned SoCon Player of the Week for posting two double-doubles and the third and fourth most single-game rebounds in school history over the Bulldogs' final three games.
Head Coach
Duggar Baucom's team enters this weekend's Ingles SoCon Tournament as the ninth seed, securing six league wins for the most since 2014-15 and five road wins for the most since 2008-09. Some of the Bulldogs' highlights included a high-profile, season-opening win at Pitt, an early-season matchup at Duke, beating VMI on the road for the first time since 2002, and a pair of second-half comeback victories to knock off UNCG and Western Carolina, both at home. The Citadel overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat the Spartans, while recovering from 19 down to beat the Catamounts for the program's biggest comeback victory since 2011. The Bulldogs' remaining SoCon victories came against Samford and Mercer.
Roche, Brown and The Citadel will open the Ingles SoCon Men's Basketball Tournament this Friday versus ETSU at 5 p.m.
Coaches All-Southern Conference Men's Basketball Teams
Player of the Year
Malachi Smith, So., G, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year
Jason Roche, F, The Citadel
Defensive Player of the Year
Jalen Slawson, Sr., F, Furman
Coach of the Year
Lamont Paris, Chattanooga
First team
Mike Bothwell, Sr., G, Furman
Jalen Slawson, Sr., F, Furman
Ques Glover, So., G, Samford
Malachi Smith, So., G, Chattanooga
Jake Stephens, Sr., C, VMI
Second team
Hayden Brown, Gr., F, The Citadel
Ledarrius Brewer, Gr., G, ETSU
Felipe Haase, Sr., F, Mercer
David Jean-Baptiste, Gr., G, Chattanooga
B.J. Mack, Jr., F, Wofford
Third team
Jordan King, So., G, ETSU
David Sloan, Gr., G, ETSU
Trey Bonham, So., G, VMI
Kamdyn Curfman, Jr., G, VMI
Nicholas Robinson, Gr., G, Western Carolina
Max Klesmit, So., G, Wofford
All-freshman team
Jason Roche, F, The Citadel
Mohab Yasser, G, ETSU
Jordan Jones, G, Mercer
Honor Huff, G, VMI
Marcus Banks, G, Western Carolina
SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA)
Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year
Malachi Smith, So., G, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year
Jason Roche, F, The Citadel
Anton Foy Coach of the Year
Bucky McMillan, Samford
First team
Hayden Brown, Gr., F, The Citadel
Jalen Slawson, Sr., F, Furman
Ques Glover, So., G, Samford
Malachi Smith, So., G, Chattanooga
Jake Stephens, Sr., C, VMI
Second team
Mike Bothwell, Sr., G, Furman
Felipe Haase, Sr., F, Mercer
David Jean-Baptiste, Gr., G, Chattanooga
Kamdyn Curfman, Jr., G, VMI
B.J. Mack, Jr., F, Wofford
Third team
Ledarrius Brewer, Gr., G, ETSU
Jordan King, So., G, ETSU
De'Monte Buckingham, Gr., G, UNCG
Trey Bonham, So., G, VMI
Max Klesmit, So., G, Wofford
All-freshman team
Jason Roche, F, The Citadel
Mohab Yasser, G, ETSU
Jordan Jones, G, Mercer
Honor Huff, G, VMI
Marcus Banks, G, Western Carolina
