The McNeese Cowboys men’s basketball team has been picked to win the Southland Conference in 2024-25, the league announced on Thursday.
The Cowboys are coming off of a 30-4 record in Will Wade’s first season in charge. That included a 17-1 mark in SLC games and a tournament title as well.
They garnered 242 points, with 21 of 24 first-place votes to earn the number one spot in this year’s preseason poll. Nicholls, who was picked third overall was the only other school to receive first-place votes.
In addition to being picked first, McNeese had a league-high five players selected to the Preseason All-SLC teams. Christian Shumate, Quadir Copeland, and Joe Charles all made first-team while Javohn Garcia and Brandon Murray were selected to the second-team.
Shumate is a senior from Chicago that made his presence felt as a rebounding force last season. He led the conference in multiple categories and returns as on of the longest tenured Cowboys on the roster.
Copeland averaged just under 10 points and five rebounds per game last year at Syracuse. He transferred in and now figures to help this McNeese team in a variety of ways in his first season.
Charles is a transfer from Carencro and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, where he was an All-Sun Belt selection. He led Louisiana with 11 double-doubles and was one of the best defensive players in the conference.
Garcia is a Columbus, Ohio native that helped McNeese with an All-Tournament team selection in the SLC Tourney a year ago. He averaged just over 11 points per game for the season and returns to Wade’s team for his senior season.
Murray is an Ole Miss transfer who also played at Georgetown and LSU throughout his collegiate career. He averaged just over four points and will look to help the McNeese backcourt as a senior.
The Cowboys begin their 2024-25 season on Monday, November 4th against South Dakota State on the road.
The full SLC Preseason Poll and All-SLC teams are as follows:
2024 Southland Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll (First-Place Votes)
- McNeese, 242 (21)
- SFA, 208
- Nicholls, 205 (3)
- A&M-Corpus Christi, 191
- Lamar, 143
- Southeastern, 121
- UIW, 117
- UTRGV, 112
- Northwestern State, 90
T10. A&M-Commerce, 54
T10. New Orleans, 54 - HCU, 48
2024 All-Southland Preseason Teams
First Team
Christian Shumate, Sr., F, McNeese
Garry Clark, Sr., F, A&M-Corpus Christi
Jamal West Jr., Sr., F, Nicholls
Quadir Copeland, Jr., G, McNeese
Joe Charles, Sr., F, McNeese
Second Team
Javohn Garcia, Sr., G, McNeese
Keon Thompson, Jr., G, SFA
Robert Brown III, Sr., G, Nicholls
Jalin Anderson, Gr., G, UIW
Brandon Murray, Sr., G, McNeese
