Jaylon Hicks Earns Preseason All-American Honors as SUNO Eyes Another Championship Run

NEW ORLEANS — Jaylon Hicks Earns Preseason All-American Honors as SUNO Eyes Another Championship Run

After turning a fourth seed into a conference championship last season, Southern University at New Orleans enters the 2026–27 men’s basketball season with higher expectations and a returning core ready to chase another title.

Sophomore wing Jaylon Hicks leads the Knights’ preseason honorees, earning Preseason All-American and HBCUAC Preseason Player of the Year recognition from NAIA Hoops Report. Senior center Dorian Booker and junior guard Donte Briggs joined Hicks on the organization’s nine-player Preseason All-HBCUAC Team, giving SUNO three selections, tied for the most of any program.

All honors and rankings were selected by NAIA Hoops Report and are separate from the HBCU Athletic Conference’s official preseason awards and polls.

Hicks was the only HBCUAC player included on the organization’s 30-player Preseason All-American list. The reigning conference Freshman of the Year helped SUNO win four games as the West Division’s No. 4 seed to capture last season’s conference tournament championship.

“I’m happy to be picked for this award, but we are not done. We are going for the Red Banner, and that’s more important than personal awards,” Hicks said.

The Knights finished 17–14 last season, closing their conference tournament run with an 84–81 overtime victory over Tougaloo. That win secured SUNO’s first trip to the NAIA National Championship since 2012. The Knights’ season ended against Oklahoma Wesleyan in the opening round.

Now, much of the group that powered that run is back.

Booker returns after earning second-team All-HBCUAC honors last season, while Briggs looks to build on a postseason performance that earned him the 2026 HBCUAC Tournament MVP award. Alongside Hicks, they give head coach James Matthews III an experienced foundation for his fifth SUNO team.

The Knights also added frontcourt depth with transfers Sam Murray from Mississippi Valley State and Blake Goodman from West Virginia State.

NAIA Hoops Report placed SUNO first in its HBCU Preseason Top 5, ahead of Tougaloo, Dillard, Paul Quinn and Philander Smith. The Knights also ranked No. 11 in the organization’s South Arc Top 15 and joined Tougaloo as the two HBCUAC programs projected to reach the NAIA National Championship.

For Matthews, the recognition reflects what his players have earned, but the focus remains on what comes next.

“It’s an honor for Jaylon, Dorian and Donte to be recognized, and it speaks to the work they put in last March and all summer,” Matthews said. “But preseason rankings don’t win games. We won a championship as a four seed because we got better every week, and that’s the standard again. This is The Run Back. Our job is to be the team in November and December that we were in March.”