Southland Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

12. Rashawn Thomas

Important to his team’s success in this past decade, Thomas is a 6’7 forward from Oklahoma City who landed at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2013. He’d become a key part of Willis Wilson’s program, helping the Islanders to a bevy of wins and success across the next four years.

Thomas wasn’t a starter as a freshman, but did average 10.8 points a game and help lead a turnaround where the Islanders finished 2nd in league play. In fact, the program would finish Top 3 in the Southland in each of his four seasons on campus. Thomas’s role and production would increase with each season, culminating in an incredible effort as a senior: 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. Thomas had a 19-rebound effort against Texas State as a junior, a 34-point effort against Houston Baptist as a senior, and would play in the CIT in all four years, leading his program to the championship game in 2017.

Having put up some great numbers, Thomas was named First Team All-Southland twice in a row and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. He was the top rebounder twice, the top scorer as a senior, and was among the best shot blockers at the mid-major level as well. His 765 points as a senior (aided by the CIT run) was the 6th highest mark in the nation. Thomas helped guide the Islanders to a 54-18 mark in conference play and was certainly paramount to their winning ways across those four years.