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THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE LANGSTON UNIVERSITY LIONS
MBB-25-38
Richard Clifton

Men's Basketball Kyle Taylor - Langston Athletic Communications

Men's Basketball Picks Up Seven All-Conference Selections

OKLAHOMA CITY – After leading Nelson to their second consecutive conference regular season title, Micah Clark has been named the 2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. The league's 13 head coaches vote on the award.
 
Delton Deal of Nelson was voted as this season's John Hudson Coach of the Year after leading the Lions to the conference regular season championship.
 
Jesse Iweze of Nelson was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Ozavaian Buford of Nelson garnered the league's Freshman of the Year honor, with Orlando Thomas of Langston earning the Newcomer of the Year award. Wayland Baptist's Brett Leach grabbed the conference Sixth Men of the Year honor, and JJ Boling of Nelson earned the league's Sportsmanship Award.
 
Clark led the conference in scoring with a 24.8 points per game average, while finishing fourth in the league in rebounding by grabbing 7.2 boards per contest. Clark was also fourth in the SAC with a 49 percent shooting percentage and was second in three-point goals per game with an average of 3.0.
 
Iweze was a key part of the Lions' defense that only allowed 79 points per game. Gaines grabbed 159 defensive rebounds on the year with 34 steals and 45 blocked shots throughout the campaign for Nelson. Buford played in 28 games this season for Nelson and averaged 7.6 points per game while averaging 2.4 rebounds per contest and 1.3 assists per game.
 
Thomas finished the season for Langston, averaging 14.9 points per game and finishing second on the team with 55 three-pointers made. Thomas also had 37 assists and 29 steals this past season.
 
Leach saw action in every Wayland Baptist contest and averaged 7.8 points per game while collecting 4.0 rebounds per contest. Leach also had 57 assists and 32 steals this past year.
 
Boling earned the conference Sportsmanship Award from the coaches as he was a great example of how to conduct himself on the court during the season.
 
Deal led the Lions to an overall record of 24-4 and a conference mark of 19-3 to win the SAC regular-season title for the second consecutive season. Nelson entered the final NAIA Coaches Poll as the 5th-ranked team after being in the Top 10 for the last few weeks.
 
The complete list of 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference postseason honorees can be found below:
 
2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Awards
 
SAC Player of the Year – Micah Clark, Nelson
Defensive Player of the Year – Jesse Iweze, Nelson
Freshman of the Year – Ozavaian Buford, Nelson
Newcomer of the Year – Orlando Thomas, Langston
Sixth Man of the Year – Brett Leach, Wayland Baptist
Sportsmanship Award – JJ Boling, Nelson
John Hudson Coach of the Year – Delton Deal, Nelson
 
First Team All-Conference 
 
Jonas Carlisle , Oklahoma City
Micah Clark, Nelson
Jamari Lawrence, Wayland Baptist
Antonio Lewis, Langston
Orlando Thomas, Langston
Morris Williams, Mid-America Christian
Rico Yarbrough, Wayland Baptist
                 
Second Team All-Conference
                 
Brian Alexander, Oklahoma City
JJ Boling, Nelson
Daylan Hamilton, Texas Wesleyan
Jesse Iweze, Nelson
Trae Oetting, John Brown
Chris Whitten, Central Christian
                 
Third Team All-Conference
                 
Mohand Ammad, Science & Arts
Christian Campbell, Oklahoma Panhandle State
Trelin Green, Nelson
Omar Henry, Langston
Khalil Turner, Texas Wesleyan
Montez Young Jr., Texas Wesleyan
                 
Honorable Mention 
 
Trey Clarke, Langston
Clance Crosby, Mid-America Christian
Marcus Green, Wayland Baptist
Brett Leach, Wayland Baptist
Julian Perez, Wayland Baptist
Garrett Snyder, College of the Ozarks
Shannon Strickland, Mid-America Christian
JaColby Williams, Southwestern Christian
Michal Wooldridge, Southwestern Christian
                 
All-Freshman Team 
 
Ozavaian Buford, Nelson
Bryce Cowns, Science & Arts
Maliq Sosa, John Brown
JaColby Williams, Southwestern Christian
Jaden Williams, Langston
                 
All-Defensive Team 
 
Jonas Carlisle , Oklahoma City
Tajahri Cave, Langston
Jesse Iweze, Nelson
Daniel Oravbiere, Texas Wesleyan
Rico Yarbrough, Wayland Baptist
 
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Players Mentioned

Orlando Thomas

#0 Orlando Thomas

G
6' 2"
Senior
Antonio Lewis

#3 Antonio Lewis

G
6' 2"
Senior
Tajahri Cave

#10 Tajahri Cave

G
6' 0"
Junior
Omar Henry

#23 Omar Henry

F
6' 7"
Junior
Jaden Williams

#33 Jaden Williams

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Trey Clarke

#11 Trey Clarke

G/F
6' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Orlando Thomas

#0 Orlando Thomas

6' 2"
Senior
G
Antonio Lewis

#3 Antonio Lewis

6' 2"
Senior
G
Tajahri Cave

#10 Tajahri Cave

6' 0"
Junior
G
Omar Henry

#23 Omar Henry

6' 7"
Junior
F
Jaden Williams

#33 Jaden Williams

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Trey Clarke

#11 Trey Clarke

6' 6"
Junior
G/F

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