PARKVILLE, Mo. – Small College Basketball is excited to announce its first Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award of 2019 consisting of 100 of the finest men’s basketball players in the country who compete in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
Senior Joey Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota), sophomore Ryan Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) and redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins (Manhattan, Kansas) represent Northwest Missouri State University on the top-100 watch list.
This marks the fourth season of the Bevo Francis Award, as the award was previously given to Dominez Burnett of Davenport (Mich.) in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State in 2017 and Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial last season.
“This was an extremely difficult process, and I am very thankful to our committee for their input and feedback on many players throughout the country,” said Small College Basketball Founder John McCarty. “When we look out over the landscape of small college basketball, we’re trying to find the best of the best, based on our criteria, out of about 1,100 – 1,200 colleges and universities.
“As such, it’s a real honor to be included on this prestigious list. Each of the players on this list is in the midst of a heck of a season, and I congratulate each and every one of them.”
Members of the Bevo Francis Award committee include the following coaches: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), Gerald Holmes – Bloomfield (N.J.), Gary Stewart – Stevenson (Md.), Arlen Galloway – Wentworth (Mass.), Chris Briggs – Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Klint Pleasant – Rochester (Mich.), Ryan Kane – Ripon (Wisc.), Mark Berokoff – Hillsdale Baptist (Okla.), Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Rhett Soliday – Vanguard (Calif.), Sam Hargraves – Alma (Mich.), Greg Mason – Centre (Ky.) and Ryan Looney – Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.).
The committee chose this elite group from over 1,100 colleges and universities and took into consideration individual statistics, previous awards, milestones and team success.
On February 15, SCB will publish the next Watch List with 50 players. The list will be narrowed down to 25 players in a Watch List published on March 15. The finalists will be announced in a highlight video that will be released on April 6.
— Northwest Athletics —