Malik Thomas Named Lou Henson Award Finalist
3/13/2025 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON, Ma. - San Francisco's Malik Thomas is one of 35 student-athletes selected by CollegeInsider.com as a finalist for the 2024-25 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in college basketball.
The Lou Henson award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
Thomas' selection marks the second straight season in which a student-athlete from San Francisco has made the list after Jonathan Mogbo was selected in 2023-24.
Thomas put together an impressive campaign on both sides of the ball this season as the guard finished the regular season leading the WCC in points per game (19.1), total points (527), steals per game (1.7) and total steals (50). Overall, his 527 total points was also tops in the conference and good for 27th in Division I. Throughout the regular season, Thomas finished with 20 points or more in 14 games, including three 30+ point performances. Notably, he put up a career-high 35 points to lead San Francisco to a 76-66 victory over Loyola Chicago at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc. on Dec. 15.
Thomas was also efficient at getting to the free throw line this year as he ranked first in the WCC and 15th nationally in made free throws with 156. His 187 free throw attempts also ranked second in the WCC and 35th nationally. Alongside his backcourt mate Marcus Williams, Thomas finished in the top ten (sixth) in the league with 60 made three-pointers this season. For these efforts, Thomas earned WCC Player of the Week honors four times this season. Most recently, Thomas surpassed 1,000 career points in USF's 84-61 win at San Diego on Feb. 15. At the conclusion of the regular season, Thomas was named to the 2024-25 All-WCC Men's Basketball First Team. Thomas has now earned All-WCC recognition both years in the green and gold after being named a Honorable Mention in 2023-24.
Guiding San Francisco to the semifinal round of the WCC Championship for the fourth straight season, Thomas tallied 18 points in USF's 86-75 quarterfinal win over Washington State on Mar. 9 followed by tying Graham Ike with a game-high 27 points against Gonzaga in the semifinal on Mar. 10.
The full list of the 2024-25 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award finalists are listed below:
LOU HENSON AWARD FINALISTS:
To view the full press release from College Insider, please click here.
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
The Lou Henson award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
Thomas' selection marks the second straight season in which a student-athlete from San Francisco has made the list after Jonathan Mogbo was selected in 2023-24.
Thomas put together an impressive campaign on both sides of the ball this season as the guard finished the regular season leading the WCC in points per game (19.1), total points (527), steals per game (1.7) and total steals (50). Overall, his 527 total points was also tops in the conference and good for 27th in Division I. Throughout the regular season, Thomas finished with 20 points or more in 14 games, including three 30+ point performances. Notably, he put up a career-high 35 points to lead San Francisco to a 76-66 victory over Loyola Chicago at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc. on Dec. 15.
Thomas was also efficient at getting to the free throw line this year as he ranked first in the WCC and 15th nationally in made free throws with 156. His 187 free throw attempts also ranked second in the WCC and 35th nationally. Alongside his backcourt mate Marcus Williams, Thomas finished in the top ten (sixth) in the league with 60 made three-pointers this season. For these efforts, Thomas earned WCC Player of the Week honors four times this season. Most recently, Thomas surpassed 1,000 career points in USF's 84-61 win at San Diego on Feb. 15. At the conclusion of the regular season, Thomas was named to the 2024-25 All-WCC Men's Basketball First Team. Thomas has now earned All-WCC recognition both years in the green and gold after being named a Honorable Mention in 2023-24.
Guiding San Francisco to the semifinal round of the WCC Championship for the fourth straight season, Thomas tallied 18 points in USF's 86-75 quarterfinal win over Washington State on Mar. 9 followed by tying Graham Ike with a game-high 27 points against Gonzaga in the semifinal on Mar. 10.
The full list of the 2024-25 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award finalists are listed below:
LOU HENSON AWARD FINALISTS:
| Daniel Batcho | 6-11 | Sr. | Louisiana Tech |
| Ante Brzovic | 6-10 | Sr. | Charleston |
| Adam "Budd" Clark | 5-10 | So. | Merrimack |
| Zach Cleveland | 6-7 | Jr. | Liberty |
| Oscar Cluff | 6-11 | Sr. | South Dakota State |
| Tayton Conerway | 6-3 | Sr. | Troy |
| Mark Freeman | 5-11 | Sr. | James Madison |
| Javohn Garcia | 6-3 | Sr. | McNeese |
| Kimani Hamilton | 6-8 | Jr. | High Point |
| Barrington Hargress | 6-0 | So. | UC Riverside |
| Jalen Jackson | 6-2 | Jr. | Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Nate Johnson | 6-3 | Jr. | Akron |
| Jordan Jones | 6-0 | Sr. | Central Connecticut State |
| Jacari Lane | 6-0 | Jr. | North Alabama |
| Bent Leuchten | 7-1 | Sr. | UC Irvine |
| Augustas Marciulionis | 6-4 | Sr. | Saint Mary's |
| Jordan Marsh | 5-10 | So. | UNC Asheville |
| Bez Mbeng | 6-4 | Sr. | Yale |
| Brian Moore, Jr. | 6-2 | Sr. | Norfolk State |
| Paulius Murauskas | 6-8 | So. | Saint Mary's |
| Dominick Nelson | 6-5 | Jr. | Utah Valley |
| Jacob Ognacevic | 6-8 | Sr. | Lipscomb |
| Quimari Peterson | 6-1 | Sr. | ETSU |
| Jaron Pierre Jr. | 6-6 | Sr. | Jacksonville State |
| John Poulakidas | 6-6 | Sr. | Yale |
| Matt Rogers | 6-9 | Sr. | American |
| PJay Smith Jr. | 6-0 | Sr. | Furman |
| Bennett Stirtz | 6-4 | Jr. | Drake |
| Marquel Sutton | 6-9 | Sr. | Omaha |
| Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones | 6-6 | Sr. | UC San Diego |
| Ray'Sean Taylor | 6-1 | Sr. | SIU Edwardsville |
| Tyler Tejada | 6-9 | So. | Towson |
| Malik Thomas | 6-5 | Sr. | San Francisco |
| Earl Timberlake | 6-6 | Sr. | Bryant |
| Nick Townsend | 6-7 | Jr. | Yale |
To view the full press release from College Insider, please click here.
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Monday, March 09
Sunday, March 08
Sunday, February 22
Thursday, February 19
