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

1. Thomas Walkup

Undoubtedly the most successful player in recent memory in the Southland, Walkup is a 6’4 guard from Pasadena, Texas who played a major role at Stephen F. Austin. He joined the Lumberjacks in 2012 and was a bench piece during that freshman year. After Brad Underwood was hired by the program, Walkup became a starter in the backcourt and a star for the Lumberjacks, leading the program to ridiculous levels of success.

As a sophomore, he was up to 13.1 points per game and led the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament, with a double-double in their upset of VCU in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. This was only the beginning for Walkup and the Lumberjacks, as he’d lead them to three straight Southland regular season and tournament titles. By his senior year, Walkup was up to 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists a game and had a triple-double against Incarnate Word late in the year. He’d drop 33 points on West Virginia in another Tournament upset while the Lumberjacks finished 53-1 in conference play during those final three seasons.

Walkup was named Southland Tournament MVP in each of those three postseasons, which in itself is an impressive honor. He was also Southland Player of the Year as both a junior and senior and was All-Defense for three straight seasons. Not just a potent scorer and leader, he was among the Southland’s best offensive rebounders, was among the national leaders in steals as a senior, and shot just over 60% from inside the arc for his career. Walkup helped Stephen F. Austin to crazy success for a mid-major program and was truly a winner.