Kansas City, MO — Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee are pleased to announce the Bevo Francis Top 25 Watch List for the 2022-23 season. The Top 25 Watch List consists of some of the top players from the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA. John McCarthy has this to say about this year’s Top 25 Watch List:
"Congratulations to the 25 players selected for the Bevo Francis Award Watch List,” stated McCarthy. “There are approximately 13,000-16,000 players that play college basketball at the small college levels, and to be among the 25 players on this list, is obviously a very high honor. Based on our selection criteria, each of these players has earned their spot on this list, and they have had - or are still having - a phenomenal season. I am very grateful for the time and insight from our committee."
The Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
2023 marks the seventh year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University in 2018, Aston Francis of Wheaton College in 2019, Kyle Mangas of Indiana Wesleyan University in 2020 and Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State University in 2022. The award was not presented during the 2021 season.
On April 1st, the finalists of this year’s award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 3rd.
The Bevo Francis Awards Committee consists of the following coaches: Gary Stewart – Stevenson (MD), Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (MT), Mark Berokoff – Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Sam Hargraves – Olivet, Stephen Brennan – Babson, Richard Westerlund – Great Lakes Christian, Chase Teichmann – Florida College, Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa (KS), Tae Norwood – Humboldt State, Mark Vanderslice – USC-Aiken, Grant Leep, Seattle Pacific, Matt O’Brien – Southwestern (KS), Chris Wright – Langston (OK), Nathan Champion – LeMoyne.
To stay up to date on all things Small College Basketball, please head to.
2022-23 Bevo Francis Award Top 25 Watch List
| Player | height | year | school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaden Anderson | 6’8” | Sr. | Point Loma |
| Diego Bernard | 6’0” | Sr. | Northwest Missouri State |
| Jalen Brooks | 6’5” | Sr. | LSU-Shreveport |
| Bryce Butler | 6’5” | Jr. | West Liberty |
| Frank Champion | 6’7” | So. | North Georgia |
| Cevin Clark | 5’11” | Jr. | Southwestern (KS) |
| Tyshaun Crawford | 7’1” | Sr. | Augusta |
| Tyson Cruickshank | 5’11” | Sr. | Wheaton (IL) |
| Zach Goodline | 6’1” | Sr. | Huntington |
| Jeff Hunter | 6’7” | Sr. | Keene State |
| Josiah Johnson | 6’1” | Sr. | Mary Hardin Baylor |
| KJ Jones | 6’6” | Jr. | Emmanuel (GA) |
| Brandon Knapper | 6’0” | Sr. | Cal State San Bernardino |
| Akuel Kot | 6’2” | Jr. | Fort Lewis |
| Zach Laput | 6’4” | Jr. | Bentley |
| Jaden Lietzke | 6’7” | Jr. | Oklahoma Wesleyan |
| Miles Mallory | 6’5” | Jr. | Randolph-Macon |
| Sam Masten | 6’2” | Sr. | Northern State |
| Riley Minix | 6’7” | Sr. | Southeastern (FL) |
| Christian Parker | 6’6” | Jr. | Mount Union |
| Joel Scott | 6’7” | Sr. | Black Hills State |
| Matt Simpson | 6’1” | Sr. | Florida College |
| Alex Sobel | 6’8” | Sr. | Middlebury |
| RJ Sunahara | 6’8” | Jr. | Nova Southeastern |
| Mason Walters | 6’9” | Sr. | Jamestown |
