ANNUAL HONORS: Male Athlete of the Year

Two athletes. Two All-Americans. Two Male Athletes of the Year.

LeTourneau baseball graduate student Dane Jones and men's basketball fifth-year senior Deonte Jackson were named the LeTourneau co-Male Athletes of the Year for 2024-25.

Jones becomes a two-time LeTourneau Male Athlete of the Year after earning the honor last season. Jackson wins the honor for the first time.

DANE JONES

One of the most accomplished baseball players in program history, Jones left his mark in a big way in 2025.

A consensus All-American for a second straight year, Jones was the ASC Player of the Year after another record-breaking performance. Jones earned ABCA first team All-America and was D3baseball.com second team All-America, while earning All-Region honors from both organizations.

Jones became a four-time All-American after earning a pair of accolades last season. He is the first player to garner first team All-America honors in the program's NCAA history.

A graduate student from Keller, Texas, Jones hit .408 with a program-record 21 home runs with 60 RBIs, 54 runs scored, nine doubles, an .882 slugging percentage, and a 1.398 OPS in 40 games played. His homers and RBIs set program season records.

"Dane has been such a joy to work with these past three years," said LeTourneau head coach Paul Phillips. "Every day you expected him to wow you in some fashion -- whether it was a backside laser off the fence or a home run over the lights. He's obviously accomplished a lot and set the bar for what it means to be a LeTourneau baseball player on the field, but more than that, I am so proud of the way he's grown and matured as a man off the field. He was a great teammate as he consistently went out of his way to help younger guys feel welcome and coach them up in and out of practice."

In his fifth year with the YellowJackets, Jones came into the season already holding the program's career home run record and finished with 62 homers -- setting an ASC record. Jones broke LeTourneau's career record for hits with 243 and also set records for career runs scored (180), RBIs (198), doubles (47), and slugging percentage (.713) during the year. Jones' career RBI total is also an ASC all-time record.

In ASC games alone in 2025, Jones hit .446 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs in just 16 games played. Jones hit seven home runs in a four-game series at Hardin-Simmons that landed him ASC, D3baseball.com, and NCBWA weekly honors. Jones had 18 multi-hit games -- with a program-record 22-game hitting streak -- and 16 multi-RBI games.

Jones ranked in the top 10 nationally in homers (second) and slugging percentage (third).

Jones added ASC All-Tournament honors as he hit three home runs and drove in six during LeTourneau's run to the championship round.

His 75 career multi-hit games is a program record for the NCAA era and Jones' 51 career multi-RBI games also established a new program record. Jones' career total bases of 486 is over 200 more than the next closest player in the program's NCAA era. Jones had 43 career stolen bases, tied for third in the NCAA era, and his 99 career walks ranks second since 1999.

DEONTE JACKSON

A highlight reel nearly every night, Jackson had his most impressive season as a YellowJacket in 2024-25.

A consensus All-American for the first time in his career, Jackson earned ASC Player of the Year honors and was the D3hoops.com Region 10 Player of the Year. Jackson earned second team D3hoops.com All-America and third team NABC All-America honors.

Jackson became the program's second consensus All-American in the NCAA era.

“I'm so proud of everything that Deonte has accomplished and thankful it is being recognized on the national level,” said head coach James Wallace. "He has earned every one of these honors and accolades. Deonte is a fierce competitor who has been extremely loyal and committed to winning and he has done a lot of that."

A fifth-year senior from Nacogdoches, Texas, Jackson capped his career in 2024-25 with ASC Player of the Year honors. Jackson averaged a career-high 23.8 points per game and led the ASC in the category while ranking fifth in Division III. He had five 30-point games on the year, including a career-high 40 in a win over Mary Hardin-Baylor on Feb. 13. Jackson led the ASC and was eighth in the nation in total points (620). His 2,290 career points ranks third all-time in program history and is currently 13th among all NCAA active players at all three levels.

Jackson shot 49.3 percent from the field on the year, including 42.8 percent from 3-point land, and made 77.5 percent at the free throw line. The senior also averaged 3.8 assists per game -- second in the ASC -- and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Jackson ranked second in the ASC in steals per game (2.4) and was 36th in the nation. He became the program's career leader in steals with 188, and swiped a program NCAA-era record seven in a win at East Texas Baptist on Feb. 20. 

Jackson earned ASC Player of the Week five times and was named to a pair of national watch lists. Jackson made the first cut of the Trevor Hudgins Award Top 15 Watch List for best career by a small college basketball player (NCAA Division II, III, NAIA) and was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List for best season by a small college basketball player. He was also named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Feb. 18.

He ends his collegiate career third in program history in career points (2,290), second in made field goals (787), second in made 3-pointers (239), fifth in career 3-point percentage (41.8), third in free throws made (477), ninth in free throw percentage (81.3), tied for fourth in assists (405), and first all-time in steals (188). Jackson totaled 16 30-point games during his five seasons.

Jackson was a five-time All-ASC selection, becoming the first player in program history to earn all-conference honors in five different seasons. He earned ASC East Division co-Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 and was the D3hoops.com Region Rookie of the Year in the same season. In addition to his all-conference honors, Jackson earned seven career ASC player of the week awards. He was a two-time D3hoops.com All-Region selection, including first team honors this year.