Five earn all-Southland Conference honors.

FRISCO – Five Texas A&M University-Commerce football team members earned all-Southland Conference recognition in their first season in the conference, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday morning. 

The Lions had four on the first team and one on the second team. A&M-Commerce went 5-6 in 2022 overall and 3-3 in its first Southland Conference season, tied for fourth after being picked to finish sixth out of eight teams in the preseason poll. 

Andrew Armstrong (Dallas – Bishop Dunne), the conference’s receiving yards leader, is named to first team all-conference. Armstrong is joined on the first team by defensive lineman Celestin Haba (Columbia, S.C.), defensive back D’Ante Smith (Richardson – Berkner), and punt returner B.J. Busbee (Long Beach, Calif.). In addition, they named Linebacker Dee Walker (Moultrie, Ga.) to the second team. 

Armstrong tied for the conference lead in touchdowns and is the conference leader and 14th in the country in receiving yards. He had 100 yards or more in six games, recording multiple touchdowns and catches in four games. He racked up 531 receiving yards in six conference games, which was more than any other player, and was named the Southland Offensive Player of the Week on October 17. 

Busbee is the leader in punt return yards during conference games, had the most extended return (51 yards) of any player, and averaged 14.1 yards per punt return in conference games, which is second in the conference. In 11 games overall, he averaged 12.1 per punt return overall, which leads the conference. 

The Lion defensive unit had three players earn all-conference honors this season. The Lions finished first in the Southland for total yards and passing defense and second in scoring defense and rushing defense. 

Haba finished tenth in the conference with 3.5 sacks and had one interception, which he returned for a touchdown at Sam Houston. He also recovered one fumble, tied for sixth in the conference. 

Smith is the conference leader in interceptions, fourth in passes defended, fifth in forced fumbles, and defended 11 passes (seven breakups, four interceptions), which leads the conference. He had seven tackles and two interceptions against UIW, totaling 2.5 tackles for loss. 

Walker is 24th in tackles during Southland play, had six or more tackles in seven games, recorded three quarterback hurries, and totaled two tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. He had nine tackles each against UIW and Nicholls. 

2022 Southland Conference Football Individual Superlative Winners 

Player of the Year: Lindsey Scott, Jr., UIW

Offensive Player of the Year: Deonta McMahon, McNeese

Defensive Player of the Year: Kelechi Anyalebechi, UIW

Newcomer of the Year: Zach Patterson, Northwestern State

Freshman of the Year: Eli Ennis, Nicholls

Offensive Lineman of the Year: John Allen, Southeastern

Coach of the Year: Frank Scelfo, Southeastern

2022 Southland Conference Football First Team All-Conference Offense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
QB	Lindsey Scott, Jr.	UIW	Gr.	Zachary, La.
RB	Deonta McMahon	McNeese	Sr.	Frostproof, Fla.
RB	Julien Gums	Nicholls	Sr.	New Orleans, La.
TE/HB	Travon Jones	Northwestern State	Fr.	Miami, Fla.
WR	Andrew Armstrong	A&M-Commerce	So.	Dallas, Texas
WR	Taylor Grimes	UIW	Sr.	Godley, Texas
WR	Darion Chafin	UIW	Gr.	Wichita Falls, Texas
OL	John Allen	Southeastern	Jr.	Jackson, Miss.
OL	Caleb Johnson	UIW	Gr.	Mount Pleasant, Texas
OL	Evan Roussel	Nicholls	So.	Lutcher, La.
OL	Reid Francis	UIW	Sr.	College Station, Texas
OL	Calvin Barkat	McNeese	Sr.	Sachse, Texas
PK	Garrison Smith	McNeese	Fr.	Norwalk, Ohio
P	Austin Dunlap	Southeastern	Jr.	Slidell, La.

2022 Southland Conference Football First Team All-Conference Defense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
DL	Chris Whittaker	UIW	Gr.	Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.
DL	Steven Parker	UIW	Sr.	Dallas, Texas
DL	Celestin Haba	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Columbia, S.C.
DL	Masry Mapieu	McNeese	Sr.	York, Neb.
LB	Kelechi Anyalebechi	UIW	Gr.	Pearland, Texas
LB	Kordell Williams	McNeese	R-Sr.	Carencro, La.
LB	Rodney Dansby	HCU	So.	Houston, Texas
DB	Jack Henderson	Southeastern	So.	Mandeville, La.
DB	Donte Thompson	UIW	Jr.	Pensacola, Fla.
DB	Zy Alexander	Southeastern	So.	Loreauville, La.
DB	Ferlando Jordan	Southeastern	R-Sr.	Atlanta, Ga,
DB	D’Ante Smith	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Richardson, Texas
KR	Gage Larvadain	Southeastern	So.	Donaldsonville, La.
PR	BJ Busbee	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Long Beach, Calif.

2022 Southland Conference Football Second Team All-Conference Offense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
QB	Zachary Clement	Northwestern State	So.	Broussard, La.
RB	Marcus Cooper	UIW	Gr.	Altair, Texas
RB	Carlos Washington, Jr.	Southeastern	Sr.	Clinton, Md.
TE/HB	Ivan Drobocky	Southeastern	So.	Bowling Green, Ky.
WR	Javon Antonio	Northwestern State	R-Jr.	LaPlace, La.
WR	Gage Larvadain	Southeastern	So.	Donaldsonville, La.
WR	Zach Patterson	Northwestern State	Jr.	Corinth, Miss.
OL	Jimeto Obigbo	UIW	So.	Arlington, Texas
OL	Nash Jones	UIW	Jr.	Nacogdoches, Texas
OL	Dom Serapiglia III	Southeastern	R-So.	Jefferson Hills, Pa.
OL	Caron Coleman	McNeese	Sr.	St. Louis, Mo.
OL	Jhy Orgeron	Southeastern	So.	Galliano, La.
PK	Riley Callaghan	Southeastern	Fr.	Ashburn, Va.
P	Brady Buell	HCU	Sr.	Traverse City, Mich.

2022 Southland Conference Football Second Team All-Conference Defense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
DL	Perry Ganci	Nicholls	Jr.	New Orleans, La.
DL	Jalyx Hunt	HCU	Jr.	DeBary, Fla.
DL	Jomard Valsin, Jr.	Northwestern State	Sr.	Port Arthur, Texas
DL	Arlen Williams	Southeastern	R-Jr.	Boothville, La.
LB	Donte’ Daniels	Southeastern	So.	Slidell, La.
LB	Tyler Jackson	Lamar	Jr.	DeSoto, Texas
LB	Dee Walker	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Moultrie, Ga.
DB	Jordan Jackson	Nicholls	Jr.	Prairieville, La.
DB	PJ Herrington	Northwestern State	Sr.	Natchez, Miss.
DB	William Hooper	Northwestern State	Sr.	Montgomery, Ala.
DB	Kaleb Culp	UIW	Jr.	Dallas, Texas
DB	Tyler Barnes	McNeese	Sr.	D’Iberville, Miss.
KR	Deonta McMahon	McNeese	Sr.	Frostproof, Fla.
PR	PJ Herrington	Northwestern State	Sr.	Natchez, Miss.

Lion Women’s Basketball is back at home to face the Lobos.

COMMERCE – After three games on the road, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team is back at home to face a tough New Mexico team on Saturday in the Field House. 

WHO: New Mexico at A&M-Commerce

WHERE: Commerce| Field House

WHEN: Saturday, November 26 | 2:00 pm

RECORDS: The Lobos are 2-3 on the season, while the Lions are 1-3. 

RANKINGS: The national poll does not have either team ranked. 

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce | http://www.ketr.org

LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/search/_/q/texas%20a%26m-commerce/o/watch/appearance/dark

LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/433486

GAME NOTES: TAMUC (PDF) | UNM 

FAN APPRECIATION DAY

Admission is free for Saturday’s game. Fans are encouraged to donate a can of non-perishable goods to the Lion Food Pantry. 

SCOUTING THE LOBOS

• The Lobos, who finished as the runner-up in the Mountain West conference last season and advanced to the Round of 16 of the WNIT last season, is 2-3 this season. Their wins are over Houston and Western New Mexico.

• New Mexico and A&M-Commerce have five common opponents this season Southern Utah, Houston, Nicholls, Mississippi State, and Boise State.

• Shaiquel McGruder leads the team with a scoring average of 14.8 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game, leading the team. 

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS

• A&M-Commerce is coming off three games on the road, fall at 2021-22 NCAA Tournament participant UT-Arlington and WNIT teams Houston and SMU.

• The Lions are playing for the first time in eight days, which is the longest stretch between two games in a season since the Christmas break last season.

• Laila Lawrence scored 12 points each at SMU and Houston, averaging 10.0 ppg.

• The Lions are picked to finish fifth in their first Southland Conference season. They also received a first-place vote. 

BRAND NEW WATERS

• The Lions are in the first season in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.

• This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences for the first time in program history. 

TOUGH SLATE TO START 2022-23

• A&M-Commerce’s first four games of the season against Division I competition have come against either team in the NCAA Tournament last season or competed in the WNIT. 

ROBINSON WAS NAMED SLC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Dyani Robinson continued right where she left off with a scoring average of 17.3 points per game to start the season, earning last week’s SLC Player of the Week.

• Last season, she was a first-team All-American, TABC Small College Player of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Most Outstanding Player of the Year, and Lone Star Conference Player of the Year. 

IT ENDED ON A HIGH NOTE

• The Lions ended their Division II era with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and won an NCAA Tournament game in each of the last two seasons.

• A&M-Commerce has five postseason appearances in program history, with four coming in the last four seasons.

• The Lions were ranked as high as No. 1 in the D2SIDA rankings and No. 2 in the WBCA rankings last season. 

HE’S DONE THIS ONCE OR TWICE

• Coach Jason Burton is in his second stint in the Southland Conference.

• Burton was an assistant coach at Texas State from 2011-13 on the men’s side. 

BURTON GETS WIN NO. 150

• Coach Jason Burton, the Lions’ all-time wins leader, secured his 150th career win on 2/12/22 at UT Tyler.