BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Daeshun Ruffin and Dorian McMillian were named Preseason All-Conference as the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced its preseason all-conference teams ahead of Media Day scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Ruffin was named the Preseason Player of the Year and earned First Team honors after a season in which he was chosen as a finalist for the Howell Trophy (given to the best collegiate basketball player in the state of Mississippi). Last season, he was named SWAC Player of the Year and HBCUGo National Player of the Year, and was one of only three players to average 20-plus points and five-plus assists in the country during the regular season, ending tied for third in scoring at 23.3 points per game and averaging 5.3 assists for Jackson State. He scored in double figures in 19 of 20 games to close the season, with the only game not in double figures coming in the season finale when he left the game early in the first half against Mississippi Valley State. He also scored in double figures 25 times, with eight games scoring 30-plus points, including four conference games.

The senior recorded five or more assists 16 times, including three games with 10 or more. He recorded 10 assists each against Alabama State and Alabama A&M (both on the road), and followed that up with a career-high 16 assists against Texas Southern. He recorded double-doubles in all three of those games, scoring 39 points against Alabama (10 assists), 23 points against Alabama State (10 assists), and 22 points against Texas Southern (16 assists). He also recorded three or more steals six times, including a season-high four against Bethune-Cookman.

Meanwhile, McMillian earned First Team honors following a season that he averaged 11.9 points per game playing alongside Ruffin in the backcourt. He finished the season shooting 37.8 percent from the floor and 32.8 percent from beyond the arc. He also shot 75.0 percent from the free throw line while averaging 4.4 rebounds. The then-sophomore dished out 38 assists and recorded 28 steals. In conference play, he averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He shot 43.2 percent from the floor and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc. He scored in double figures 17 times last season, including five games of 20 or more, and scored a season-high 25 points against Texas Southern. McMillian was named the Freshman of the Year following the 2024-25 season.

Jackson State opens the season on Nov. 2 on the road at Texas Tech.

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