RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Three Bison were honored by the Great American Conference tonight, as Burke Putnam, Brantly Thompson, and Harrison Stoddart all picked up All-GAC recognitions from the league office.
Putnam highlighted the group, earning Newcomer of the Year and All-GAC First-Team honors, while Thompson and Stoddart were named to the All-GAC Second Team.
The Tulsa native was a unanimous selection to the First-Team, after putting on a clinic in his debut season in the league. Putnam averaged a league-best 20.5 points per game and was the only player to average over 20.0 points per contest in the GAC. He scored 574 points this season, which is 15th in the nation, the most by a Bison in the Division II era, and nears the No. 4 spot of 576 points in the GAC record book.
Putnam's 213 made field goals are 15th in the nation and rank fourth all-time in GAC single-season history. Additionally, he is on pace to become the third league affiliate to average 20.0 points per game. The senior has accomplished these impressive numbers by shooting nearly 50 percent (48.1%) from the floor. Furthermore, his 14 20-point games and three 30-point games are tied for fourth in league history.
The guard was tabbed GAC Player of the Week five times this season, the most of any male or female. In fact, he became the second male GAC basketball athlete to record at least five Player of the Week honors in a single season in league history.
This is the second All-GAC selection for Brantly Thompson, who earned First-Team honors last season. In 23 games of action, he averaged 11.7 points per game and led OBU in assists (104), which ranked third in the conference. His assist total is a career high, while his 48 three-pointers near his career-best of 56 triples in a season. Thompson needs 74 points to reach 1,500 career points, which would land him at No. 8 in the Bison record books. He is also six three-pointers away from 250 career triples.
Thompson eclipsed his previous career-best of 25 points, set last season, twice with 26 and 28 point outings in 2021-22. He knocked down six three-pointers, which he had two other times in his career, on eleven attempts to garner 28 points. The guard shot 11-for-17 (64.7%) from the field and dished out six assists to complete his career night.
Stoddart records his second consecutive All-GAC selection after averaging 11.7 points per game, paired with a 46.5 field-goal percentage. With 72 field goals in 18 games, he is just two makes away from 500 career field goals, and has done so shooting 51.0 percent from the floor in his career.
He totals 1,433 career points and sits one spot above Thompson on the all-time Bison charts. Stoddart's best game came against Arkansas Tech where he scored a career-high 36 points, including six three-pointers. In fact, he single-handedly outscored the Wonderboys 20-19 in the contest's first half.
