Southland Conference Announces Football All-Academic Team
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese defensive lineman Isaiah Chambers repeats as the Southland Conference Football Student-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Tuesday in conjunction with the all-academic team.
A two-time all-academic honoree, Chambers boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA as a graduate student majoring in criminal justice. Named first-team all-America by Stats Perform, FCS ADA and AP, he also repeated as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 15.5 TFL and 10.5 sacks.
All six football-playing members were represented on the academic all-league list, led by Southeastern with seven selections, followed by UIW with six. McNeese and Northwestern State garnered four spots each, and HBU rounded out the squad with three honorees.
Eight student-athletes are returning all-academic selections, led by three-time honoree Taron Jones of Southeastern. The junior running back owns a 3.29 GPA in finance and tallied 771 all-purpose yards and eight total touchdowns as a piece of the Lions’ high-powered offense this season.
Chambers is one of four honorees with a perfect 4.00 GPA, along with McNeese quarterback Cody Orgeron, UIW offensive lineman Reid Francis and Southeastern defensive back Matt Wright. Another eight individuals posted GPAs of 3.50 or higher, and the average GPA of the team is 3.47.
Eight student-athletes were automatic selections as first-team all-conference honorees who met all-academic qualification, including Chambers. Wright, along with Southeastern teammate Mateo Rengifo and Nicholls defensive lineman Zack Bernard, earned automatic qualification as CoSIDA Academic All-District nods. HBU linebacker Brennan Young garnered an automatic nod as an FCS ADA Academic All-Star.
The team was voted upon by the head coach, sports information director and an academic/compliance staff member from each school. Student-Athletes of the Year are voted upon by an awards committee which consists of one administrator from each member school. Voting for one’s own athletes is not permitted.
To be eligible for all-academic distinction, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA through the semester prior to the sport’s championship, completed at least one full academic year at the school prior to the current season, and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competitions during the most recently completed season.
Student-Athlete of the Year nominees must have at least a 3.20 GPA and have completed at least two years of athletic competition at the nominating school, including the current season.
Southland Football Student-Athlete of the Year: Isaiah Chambers, McNeese
Southland Football All-Academic Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Hometown |
Cl. |
GPA |
Major |
| QB |
Cody Orgeron |
McNeese |
Mandeville, La. |
Gr. |
4.00 |
Health Promotion |
| RB |
Tyrese Brown |
UIW |
Madisonville, Texas |
Jr. |
3.34 |
Business Admin. |
| RB |
Taron Jones3 |
Southeastern |
Mandeville, La. |
Jr. |
3.29 |
Finance |
| TE |
David Fitzwater2 |
Northwestern State |
Shreveport, La. |
Gr. |
3.85 |
Biology |
| WR |
Robert Ferrel* |
UIW |
Sparks, Nev. |
Gr. |
3.07 |
Psychology |
| WR |
Gavin Landry2 |
Northwestern State |
White Castle, La. |
Gr. |
3.94 |
Business Admin. |
| WR |
Tyson Thompson |
HBU |
Spring, Texas |
So. |
3.15 |
Finance |
| OL |
John Allen |
Southeastern |
Jackson, Miss. |
So. |
3.12 |
General Studies |
| OL |
Calvin Barkat |
McNeese |
Sachse, Texas |
Jr. |
3.50 |
Pre-Chiropractic Med. |
| OL |
Reid Francis2 |
UIW |
College Station, Texas |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Engineering Mgmt. |
| OL |
Nash Jones* |
UIW |
Nacogdoches, Texas |
Jr. |
3.47 |
Liberal Studies |
| OL |
Rendon Miles-Character*2 |
Southeastern |
New Orleans, La. |
Sr. |
3.08 |
General Studies |
| PK |
Mateo Rengifo# |
Southeastern |
Lawrenceville, Ga. |
So. |
3.66 |
General Studies |
| P |
Keven Nguyen |
UIW |
Rohnert Park, Calif. |
Gr. |
3.63 |
Sociology |
| DL |
Zack Bernard# |
Nicholls |
Mandeville, La. |
So. |
3.50 |
Biology/Pre-Med |
| DL |
Isaiah Chambers*2 |
McNeese |
Houston, Texas |
Gr. |
4.00 |
Criminal Justice |
| DL |
Perry Ganci* |
Nicholls |
New Orleans, La. |
Jr. |
3.29 |
Business Admin. |
| DL |
Cameron Preston* |
UIW |
Crowley, Texas |
Gr. |
3.02 |
Kinesiology |
| LB |
Alexis Ramos* |
Southeastern |
Salinas, Calif. |
Sr. |
3.13 |
Criminal Justice |
| LB |
Kordell Williams* |
McNeese |
Carencro, La. |
Sr. |
3.00 |
Criminal Justice |
| LB |
Brennan Young2& |
HBU |
Spring, Texas |
Sr. |
3.70 |
Marketing |
| DB |
Shemar Bartholomew |
Northwestern State |
New Orleans, La. |
Sr. |
3.03 |
Health & Exercise Science |
| DB |
Justin Dumas |
Southeastern |
LaPlace, La. |
So. |
3.44 |
Kinesiology |
| DB |
Donovan Duvernay |
Northwestern State |
Garland, Texas |
Gr. |
3.67 |
Higher Education |
| DB |
Coi Miller |
HBU |
Fort Worth, Texas |
Sr. |
3.38 |
Business Admin. |
| DB |
Matt Wright#2 |
Southeastern |
Austin, Texas |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Business Admin. |
* Automatic selection; First Team All-Conference
# Automatic selection; CoSIDA Academic All-District
& Automatic selection; FCS ADA Academic All-Star
^ Southland Football Student-Athlete of the Year
2 Two-time all-academic selection
3 Three-time all-academic selection