Men's Basketball | 3/8/2016 11:06:00 AM

Sun Belt Championship Central

NEW ORLEANS – Georgia Southern freshman Tookie Brown has been named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and first-team all-league, and sophomore Mike Hughes has been named third-team All-Sun Belt, the conference announced today. 

Brown, who is ranked eighth in the country among freshmen in scoring, is the first Eagle to win conference Freshman of the Year honors since Lonnie Edwards was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year by both the coaches and media in 1994. The 5-foot-11 guard set the Georgia Southern freshman scoring record and is ranked is ranked in the top-10 in the Sun Belt in scoring (4th, 17.9 ppg), assists (7th, 3.4 apg), steals (2nd, 1.7), free-throw percentage (7th, .811) and assist/turnover ratio (6th, 1.5). Brown has scored 20-plus points in 10 games and reached double figures in 27 of 29 contests.

Hughes ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in scoring (15.1 ppg) and leads the league in steals (2.1 spg). The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard averaged 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 assists in conference play. He scored 20-plus points eight times and has reached double figures in the last 16 contests.

Voting of the Preseason Sun Belt All-Conference Team and Preseason Poll was conducted by the league's 11 head coaches along with a selected media panel.

Georgia Southern has earned the fifth seed in this week's Sun Belt Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The Eagles will take on eighth-seeded South Alabama Thursday at 6 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Students can get free admission to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by showing their valid school ID at the ticket window.

Ticket booklets are available for $99, and Eagle fans can purchase their tickets to follow the Eagles to New Orleans through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office online at GSEagles.com/Tickets, by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or visiting the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium. By purchasing through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office, fans can guarantee a seat behind the team bench area. Tournament ticket booklet give fans a chance to see every game in the tournament, which runs from March 10-13 at the Lakefront Center in The Big Easy.

First Team All-Conference
Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern, Freshman, G, Undeclared)
Josh Hagins (Little Rock, Senior, G, Health Science)
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Senior, F, General Studies)
Majok Deng (UL Monroe, Senior, F, General Studies)
Erick Neal (UT Arlington, Sophomore, G, Broadcast Communications)

Second Team All-Conference
Frank Eaves (Appalachian State, Senior, G, Management)
Anthony Livingston (Arkansas State, Junior, F, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Marcus Johnson Jr. (Little Rock, Junior, G, Criminal Justice)
Justin Roberson (UL Monroe, Senior, G, General Studies)
Wesley Person (Troy, Sophomore, G, Global Business)

Third Team All-Conference
Devin Carter (Arkansas State, Junior, G, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Mike Hughes (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, G, Sport Management)
Roger Woods (Little Rock, Senior, F, Criminal Justice)
Ken Williams (South Alabama, Junior, G, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Emani Gant (Texas State, Senior, F, General Studies)

Student-Athlete of the Year
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Sr., F/C, General Studies)

Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Justin Roberson (UL Monroe, Senior, G, General Studies)

Freshman of the Year
Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern, Freshman, G, Undeclared)

Joe Gottfried Coach of the Year
Chris Beard, Little Rock

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.