Nijal Pearson named 2020 Sun Belt Player of the Year

After his highest-scoring season to date, Texas State senior guard Nijal Pearson was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year on Thursday.

Pearson posted a career-high 578 points his senior season to total 2,099 for his career, eclipsing the program’s all-time record. He led the conference with 19.3 points per game, shooting .419% from the field, .352% from deep and .772% from the free throw line.

The Beaumont native also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game while helping the Bobcats finish the year with a 13-7 conference record and a 20-11 overall record — the third 20-win season of Pearson’s career. Pearson led the league with three Sun Belt Player of the Week laurels this season, taking the honor on Dec. 16, Jan. 13 and Feb. 17.

It’s the first time a Bobcat has won a conference Player of the Year title since 1999 when former Texas State guard Donte Mathis won the award in the Southland Conference.

Pearson was also named to the All-Sun Belt First Team for the second consecutive year. No other Bobcats received postseason accolades.

Texas State will be the No. 3 seed in the league tournament, taking on the winner of No. 6 seed Appalachian State (17-14, 11-9) vs. No. 7 seed UT Arlington (14-17, 10-10) or No. 10 seed Coastal Carolina (15-16, 8-12). The game will be held on March 11 at 7 p.m. inside Strahan Arena and broadcasted on ESPN+.