During Texas State’s 511-mile bus ride from San Marcos to New Orleans on Monday, head coach Zenarae Antoine blew her whistle a few times to get her players’ attention.
“Wake up! Wake up!” Antoine said in a sing-song voice. “We’ve got a Bobcat announcement. We have a first-team all-conference player on this bus.”
The team began clapping before Antoine even revealed who it was.
“Toshua Leavitt!”
The senior guard was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team Monday afternoon. Leavitt averaged 16.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game and led the league with 105 3-pointers made in 30 games as a starter this season.
This marks the second consecutive year a Bobcat has picked up first-team honors. Last season, then-senior guard Taeler Deer earned the distinction while Leavitt was named to the second team. Leavitt is the 12th player in program history to collect the laurel.
Leavitt holds multiple Sun Belt records for 3-point shooting, including most made in a single game (10), single season (137) and a career (359). She is a career 39.7 percent shooter from deep.
“What an honor for our program and for Toshua to be named first team All-Sun Belt," head coach Zenarae Antoine said in a statement. "It is a well-deserved honor with her breaking various records at Texas State, in the league, and nationally over her four years in the maroon and gold. It is a great day to be a Bobcat!”
This season, Leavitt helped lead her team to go 14-16 overall and 9-9 in conference play — good for the No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt tournament. Texas State is slated to face No. 7-seeded South Alabama on Wednesday at 2 p.m. inside Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
After announcing the news on the bus, Antoine asked the senior guard if she had anything to say. Leavitt looked around and shrugged at a loss for words.
“I’m happy.”
All-Sun Belt First Team
Ronjanae DeGray, Little Rock (Sr. F, Odessa, Texas)
DJ Williams, Coastal Carolina (Jr., G, Moreno Valley, Calif.)
Antoinette Lewis, South Alabama (So., F, Memphis, Tenn.)
Cierra Johnson, UTA (RS-Sr., G, Bedford, Texas)
Toshua Leavitt, Texas State (Sr., G, Nixa, Mo.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Kyra Collier, Little Rock (Jr., G, North Little Rock, Ark.)
Alexis Brown, Georgia Southern (Jr., G, Madison, Ga.)
Jada Lewis, Georgia State (So., G, Powder Springs, Ga.)
Savannah Jones, South Alabama (So., G, Ocean Springs, Miss.)
Sky'Lynn Holmes, Troy (Sr., F, Mount Pleasant, Texas)
All-Sun Belt Third Team
Bayley Plummer, Appalachian State (Jr., C, Thomasville, N.C.)
Tori Lasker, Little Rock (So., G, Mayflower, Ark.)
Peyton Martin, Arkansas State (So., F, Pine Bluff, Ark.)
Allison Johnson, Georgia State (Sr., F, Norcross, Ga.)
Arsula Clark, ULM (So., G, Douglasville, Ga.)
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Co-Players of the Year
Ronjanae DeGray, Little Rock (Sr. F, Odessa, Texas)
Cierra Johnson, UTA (RS-Sr., G, Bedford, Texas)
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year
Sky'Lynn Holmes, Troy (Sr., F, Mount Pleasant, Texas)
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year
Brandi Williams, Louisiana (Fr., G, Lake Charles, La.)
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Newcomer of the Year
Allison Johnson, Georgia State (Sr., F, Norcross, Ga.)
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Coach of the Year
Krista Gerlich, UTA
