Birmingham, Ala. - Jackson State University's men's basketball players Ken Evans Jr. and Jordan O'Neal took home the top honors from the Southwestern Athletic Conference postseason awards, as announced on Tuesday evening. 

league's head coaches and sports information directors select the awards. 

Evans Jr., a native of Jackson, Miss., became the ninth player from Jackson State to win the SWAC Player of the Year and the first since 2021, when Tristan Jarrett won the award. Evans joins the Tigers' assistant coach, Trey Johnson, as a SWAC Player of the Year award-winner. Evans was also named to the All-SWAC First Team. 

Jackson State has the second-most winners of the award, behind only Texas Southern, which has 12 winners. Past winners of the award for the Tigers include back-to-back winners Eugene Short (1974 and 1975) and his younger brother Purvis Short (1977 and 1978), along with  Lindsey Hunter (1993), Trey Johnson (2006-07), Garrison Johnson (2009-10), and Tristan Jarrett (2020-21). 

Evans, Jr. finished the regular season atop the SWAC in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game, sixth in field goal percentage (.414), eighth in assists (2.87), fourth in defensive rebounds (4.26), and first in minutes played. He scored his 1,000th career point this year, on his way to scoring 585 total points. He earned SWAC Player of the Week on two different occasions and scored 20 points or more in 11 games this season and in double-figures in each SWAC game he played, including a career-high 37 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 

O'Neal, a native of Mobile, Ala., became the first Jackson State player to win SWAC Defensive Player of the Year since Jayveous McKinnis won the award three years in a row from 2020-22, a first for the SWAC. 

A force on the defensive end of the floor, O'Neal led the SWAC in blocked shots (1.48) and field goal percentage (.606), averaging 12.6 points per game. He averaged 6.10 rebounds per game, including 2.45 offensive and 3.66 defensive rebounds. He earned SWAC Impact Player of the Week twice and SWAC Player of the Week. O'Neal recorded two double-doubles this season against Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M. He recorded five blocks twice this season and scored in double figures in 18 games. He finished the season with 43 total blocks. 





Here is the complete list of honorees on the 2023-24 SWAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Team: 

Coach of the Year
Donte' Jackson, Grambling State
 
Player of the Year
Ken Evans Jr., Jackson State

Defensive Player of the Year
Jordan O'Neal, Jackson State

Newcomer of the Year
Rashad Williams, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Freshman of the Year
Chad Moodie, Alabama A&M
 
All-SWAC First Team
Ken Evans Jr., Jackson State
Jeremiah Kendall, Alcorn State
PJ Henry, Texas Southern
Zion Harmon, Bethune-Cookman
Kintavious Dozier, Grambling State
 
All-SWAC Second Team
Jakobi Heady, Bethune-Cookman
Antonio "TJ" Madlock, Alabama State
Kylen Milton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Tidjiane Dioumassi, Southern
Rashad Williams, Arkansas-Pine Bluff