Leggett Named SLC Player of the Year

FRISCO – Amber Leggett was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, highlighting three Bearkats to earn postseason honors, per a release on Tuesday from league officials.

Leggett is just the second Bearkat in program history to be named the league's top player, joining Sirena Autman who won the award in 1991. Additionally, she was named to the all-SLC first team while teammates Courtney Cleveland and Faith Cook were named to the third team.

Cleveland also received praise for her defensive prowess as one of five players named to the SLC All-Defensive Team.

The honors are the first for Cleveland in her Bearkat career, while it is the second straight season Cook has been named to the third team.

Leggett's win, along with Zach Nutall on the men's side, also completes an impressive feat for Sam Houston as just the third school in the history of the Southland Conference to sweep player of the year honors on both the men's and women's sides in the same season. That feat was last achieved by Stephen F. Austin with Thomas Walkup and Porsha Roberts in 2015, and also by ULM in 1986 with Bobby Jenkins on the men's side and Eun Jung Lee on the women's side.

A native of Navarre, Fla., Leggett was coming off a 2019-20 season that saw her land on the all-SLC first team and she started off this season with a splash, scoring 34 points against Midwestern State in the season opener. She never let up, scoring in double figures in 18 of the Kats' 20 games on the year.

Nine times she surpassed the 20-point mark and she is the only player in the league with multiple 30-point outings, including a 31-point effort in SHSU's first win over ACU that put her over the 1,000-point scoring mark for her career.

Leggett hasn't just been a scorer this year, leading Sam Houston with 7.0 rebounds per game and steals while also picking up five double-doubles. Her play was consistent too, averaging 19.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game against SLC-only competition in helping the Kats to the No. 3 seed in this week's Southland Conference Tournament.

She was not the only Bearkat to earn notoriety with Cleveland and Cook also garnering well-earned honors. Cleveland earned her addition to the all-defensive team by routinely drawing the assignment of the opponent's top player, leading SHSU with an average of 2.0 steals and ranking second with 6.1 rebounds per game in SLC play.

Cleveland nearly doubled her scoring from her junior to senior year and was consistently one of the top offensive threats the Kats featured, fitting in ideally to Ravon Justice's fast-paced style of play. She reached double figures in half of the Kats' 20 games and posted five 20-point efforts.

Her season high of 26 came early in the year against New Mexico while she also set a new career high with 15 rebounds as part of her third double-double of the season in a win over Lamar.

For Cook, she landed on the all-SLC third team for the second consecutive season. A preseason all-SLC first team choice entering the year, she averaged 12.8 points per game in 2020-21 while her 3.8 assists per contest in SLC play ranked fourth among all league players.

It is the second straight year she has averaged double figures in scoring, Cook led SHSU with 37 made 3-point buckets and hit 80.2 percent of her foul shots after converting on 34 straight to start the season.

The league leader in minutes played, she reached double figures in scoring 14 times with a season high of 24 in a win over Our Lady of the Lake while she twice had a season high of seven assists, both coming in wins over ACU.

The Bearkats will continue their season this week at the Southland Conference Tournament where they enter as the No. 3 seed. Play will begin for the Bearkats in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday at 2:00 p.m. against either No. 6 Nicholls, No. 7 ACU or No. 10 UIW.

All games of the SLC Tournament will be aired on ESPN+, except for Sunday's championship which will be on CBS Sports Network.

Leggett Named SLC Player of the Year

Players Mentioned

Courtney Cleveland

Faith Cook

Amber Leggett

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