BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Jackson State senior guard Daeshun Ruffin was named the 2026 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Player of the Year on Friday morning by the conference office, and was also selected First Team All-SWAC.
Ruffin is 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 averaged 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).Â
He also recorded three or more steals six times including a season-high four against Bethune-Cookman.
Ruffin is ranked in several categories nationally as the regular season concludes this week including points per game (four), free throws (five), free throw attempts (eight), field goal attempts (10), points (11), field goals (37), assists per game (42), assists (63), free throw percentage (124), minutes per game (135), steals per game (137), steals (183), double doubles (273), field goal percentage (303), and assist/turnover ratio (319).Â
He also leads the conference in free throw attempts, free throws, and points per game; while he is in the top three in several other categories.
Jackson State opens up play at the conference tournament in Atlanta on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. (ET) against the winner of Grambling State and Mississippi Valley State.
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