BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bethune-Cookman first-year guard Zion Harmon was named 2022-23 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year, as well as All-SWAC Second Team, announced by the league office Tuesday evening.

Sophomore Zion Harmon commanded a potent Wildcats offense that finished second in the SWAC in scoring as a team.

Averaging nearly 33 minutes per game, Harmon averaged 15.5 points per game, a top-ten mark in the SWAC. The Wildcats point guard finished second in the SWAC in assists at 103, finishing second in the conference in assists per game at 4.1 to lead his team.

Zion, who led the Wildcats in free throw attempts at 113, finished the year fifth in all of college basketball with a 93 percent mark from the charity stripe, draining 105 on the year.

Harmon also grabbed 65 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Defensively, he finished fifth in the conference with 1.8 steals per game on a Wildcats team that led the conference in the category by a 49-steal margin.

Harmon scored in double figures 20 times, including 12 straight to close out the season.

He recorded at least one assist in all but one game – the season opener at Minnesota. Of those games, he dished out 5+ assists nine times.

In a non-conference win over Incarnate Word, Harmon posted a season-high 33 points on 12-18 shooting with only two three-pointers and seven free throws made. He also grabbed six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. He dished out a season-high 10 assists against Florida A&M on Jan. 6

Zion was named SWAC Impact Player of the Week on two occasions this season (Dec. 5, 2023, Feb. 27, 2024) Tuesday's award marks the second SWAC postseason honor of his career after he was named All-SWAC Second Team, as well as Freshman of the Year, in 2023.

Newcomer Jakobi Heady was a revelation for Bethune-Cookman in his first season with the program. Averaging over 32 minute per game, he led a potent Wildcats offense that finished second in the SWAC in scoring as a team with a team-high 15.6 points per game, the ninth-best mark in the conference. He did so on a .493 shooting percentage, the third-best mark among qualified players in the SWAC.

Heady also grabbed 124 rebounds, just one shy of the team lead. Heady also dished out 37 assists, blocked nine shots and swiped 41 steals, the 11th best mark in the conference.

Heady scored in double figures 23 times this season, including five 20+ point outings. Heady scored a season-high 25 against UAPB, and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds at home against Alabama State.  

He finished with at least ten boards ten times. Heady was named SWAC Impact Player of the week on two occasions this season, Dec. 12 and Jan. 2.
 
No. 5 seed Bethune-Cookman faces No. 4 seed Southern in opening round action of the 2024 Starry Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament presented by Buick on Thursday, March 14, at 8:30 p.m. CT. All games are taking place at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

 
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