The Southwestern Athletic Conference has long been known for its grit, pace, and electric guard play.
But this season — at least through the first two weeks of conference play — the spotlight has never shined brighter on its backcourts.
Leading the surge are Prairie View’s Tai’Reon Joseph and Jackson State’s Daeshun Ruffin and Southern’s Michael Jacobs, who have turned every SWAC night into a scoring showcase.
Tai’Reon Joseph’s rise
Joseph, the silky-smooth scorer from Baton Rouge, has been nothing short of unstoppable. His ability to rise up from mid-range or attack the rim with force has made him a nightmare for defenders.
Consistently posting 20-plus points a night, Joseph’s scoring prowess blends efficiency with flare — the reason Prairie View’s offense hums when the game tightens. He currently is averaging a SWAC-best 23 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting.
How good has the junior been? Through the first three conference outings, Joseph as posted point totals of 21 (at Grambling State), 32 (at Southern) and 23 (versus Mississippi Valley State). He’s been named SWAC Player of the Week multiple times already.
Joseph’s journey from Baton Rouge to Prairie View A&M has been marked by gradual refinement of his offensive game and a steady climb up the national scoring charts. Listed as a guard for the Panthers, he has evolved into a primary scoring option who now ranks among the top scorers in Division I.
It wasn’t always that way, though. At Austin Peay as a freshman, he averaged just 6.4 points per game in 2021 before transferring to Radford, where he posted 4.1 points per game in 29 games. But was at Southern — back in his hometown — where he blossomed, averging career bests in points (20.5) and field goal percentage (43.5) in his lone season with the Jaguars in 2024.
After an up and down stint at URVG, where Joseph experienced a significant drop in points and shooting percentage, he found his way back into the SWAC at Prairie View. Though a small sample size, Joseph has become the engine of Prairie View’s attack and one of the most dangerous one-on-one players in the conference.
Ruffin has continued JSU guard tradition
At Jackson State, the scoring mantle has been carried by Daeshun Ruffin.
In past years, players like Ken Evans Jr. averaged close to 19 points per game while adding rebounds and assists, setting a standard for production on the perimeter and giving the program a template for a guard-led offense.
In the 2025–26 campaign, Jackson State’s backcourt remains the centerpiece of its scoring with Ruffin leading the team in points per game, both sitting in double figures and logging heavy minutes. His ability to fill multiple columns on the stat sheet while shouldering primary scoring duties keeps Jackson State among the most guard-driven offenses in the SWAC.
Ruffin, a highly touted prep player from Jackson, the 5-10 guard played two seasons at Ole Miss, where he appeared in just 25 games and averaged just over 11 points per game and shot under 40 percent from the field.
In two seasons with Jackson State, Ruffin’s production has steadily risen. This season alone, Ruffin has scored 20 or more points in eight games. And since the calendar turned to 2026, Ruffin has scored at least 30 points in three consecutive games, including totals of 31, 36 in wins over Alcorn and Alabama State and a 39-point effort in a loss to Alabama A&M.
Jacobs has been Southern’s catalyst
Michael Jacobs has turned promise into production this season, backing up his reputation as Southern’s go-to scorer with numbers that jump off the page.
The 6-foot-2 senior guard is averaging 21 points per game, while adding roughly 4 assists and 4 rebounds a night, ranking among the more productive scorers in college basketball.
He is shooting in the mid‑40s from the field, balancing aggressive drives with a confident perimeter touch that keeps defenses stretched.
Those stats are more than box‑score filler; they shape the way Southern plays. When Jacobs gets downhill, he collapses defenses and opens kick‑out threes, reflected in his steady assist numbers. His recent stretch has included four 20-plus point outings, highlighted by a 30-point performance on Jan. 5 against Prairie View. These outings have underscored his ability to take over a game against conference competition.
Together, the scoring load, playmaking, and efficiency have cemented Jacobs as the heartbeat of the Jaguars’ backcourt this season, with every possession and every stat line strengthening his case as one of the SWAC’s most dangerous guards.
Why they’re elite in the SWAC
Together, Joseph and Ruffin represent two paths to the same result: consistent, high-level scoring against focused defensive game plans. Joseph brings a singular scoring focus for Prairie View, while Ruffin gets it done his own way.
Jacobs does it with both brawn and finesse.
In a conference where pace and guard play drive success, their statistical output—Joseph near the top of the national scoring list and Ruffin leads their team across points, minutes, and usage—cements them as the SWAC’s premier offensive forces.
