NEW ORLEANS – Georgia State redshirt sophomore guard Jelani Hamilton has been named Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after leading the Panthers to a 2-0 week at home in league play and improving the team’s winning streak to four games.
Hamilton averaged 30.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 18-for-34 (.529) overall, 8-for-18 (.444) from 3-point range and 17-for-20 (.850) at the free throw line in victories over Southern Miss and Arkansas State.
A Marietta, Ga., native, Hamilton scored a career-high 38 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the floor, including 6-for-11 beyond the arc, to go with four steals in the Panthers’ thrilling, 82-81 triumph over Arkansas State on Jan. 24. His 38 points are tied for the most in a game by a Sun Belt player this season.
Hamilton got the week started with 23 points on 6-for-13 shooting while going 9-for-10 at the foul stripe in Georgia State’s 69-62 win over Southern Miss on Jan. 22. He has eclipsed 20 points in three of the Panthers’ last four games and currently leads the Sun Belt at 19.4 points per game this season.
Hamilton is the first Georgia State player to earn the Sun Belt’s top weekly honor since Cesare Edwards accomplished the feat on Feb. 18, 2025.
2025-26 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
Week 1 – Cooper Campbell, Troy (So., G – Puyallup, Wash.)
Week 2 – Spudd Webb, Georgia Southern (Gr., G – Hartwell, Ga.)
Week 3 –Tylik Weeks, Southern Miss (Jr., F – New York, N.Y.)
Week 4 –Justin McBride, James Madison (Jr., F – Plano, Texas)
Week 5 – Spudd Webb, Georgia Southern (Gr., G – Hartwell, Ga.)
Week 6 – Alonzo Dodd, App State (Sr., G – St. Paul, Minn.)
Week 7 – Chaze Harris, South Alabama (Sr., G – Cleveland, Ohio)
Week 8 – A.J. Dancler, Coastal Carolina (Jr., G – Indianapolis, Ind.)
Week 9 – Jalen Speer, Marshall (Gr., G – Gainesville, Fla.)
Week 10 – Adam Olsen, South Alabama (Jr., F – Surrey, B.C., Canada)
Week 11 – Victor Valdes, Troy (Jr., F – Monterrey, Mexico)
Week 12 – Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (R-So., G – Marietta, Ga.)