FRISCO, Texas - Nicholls State University sophomore Jalik Dunkley has been named Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon.

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Dunkley led Nicholls to a 3-0 week in the SLC as he averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and shot .517 from the field. To close out the year, he scored 16 points and had five rebounds in the Colonels' first road win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He followed with his third double-double of the season with 22 points, 12 rebounds while adding three blocks at UTRGV.

In the opening game of 2026, Dunkley nearly had another double-double with eight points and nine boards in the home victory over East Texas A&M on Saturday.

The award is the first for Dunkley and first for the Colonels this season.

At 5-0 in Southland play, Nicholls is off to its best start in conference since 1998. The Colonels return to the court tonight (Monday, Jan. 5) against Northwestern State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.