Small College Basketball released its second watch list for the Bevo Francis Award for the 2022-23 season. The Top 50 features 100 players from DII, DIII, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA men's basketball.
The award was created in 2015 and is named after Clarence "Bevo" Francis. Francis played two seasons at what is now the University of Rio Grande. In his first season, he led the team to a 39-0 record averaging 50.1 points per game, highlighted by a 116-point performance against Ashland College in Kentucky.
HISTORY: Francis highlights the best single-seasons in DII lore
DII men's basketball's Trevor Hudgins was the previous winner. Hudgins capped his career last season with his third straight national championship, third MIAA player of the year award, and second NABC DII player of the year award as one of the leaders of the Northwest Missouri State dynasty. He was the second Bearcat to win the award since 2017, with Justin Pitts taking the honors that season.
REMEMBERING FRANCIS: A look back at his career
From the DII men's basketball perspective, there are 20 players remaining in the hunt for player of the year. No. 1 and undefeated Nova Southeastern is represented by RJ Sunahara while Diego Bernard represents the three-time defending champion Bearcats.
The list will be cut two more times before the winner is announced on April 3. Here are the important dates:
- Jan. 15, 2023: Initial Top 100 watch list released
- March 15, 2023: Top 25
- April 1, 2023: Finalists
- April 3, 2023: The 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner announced
The Bevo Francis Top 50
| Player | Year | School |
|---|---|---|
| Kaden Anderson | Sr. | Point Loma |
| Josh Angle | Sr. | Claremont-Mudd-Scripts |
| Raheem Anthony | Sr. | St. Mary’s (MN) |
| Diego Bernard | Sr. | Northwest Missouri State |
| Jesse Bingham | So. | UIndy |
| Octavio Brito | So. | Keene State |
| Jalen Brooks | Sr. | LSU-Shreveport |
| Anthony Brown | Sr. | Mid-America Nazarene |
| Julius Brown | Sr. | West Texas A&M |
| Bryce Butler | Jr. | West Liberty |
| Frank Champion | So. | North Georgia |
| Luke Chicone | So. | John Carroll |
| Jack Clement | Sr. | Ohio Wesleyan |
| Tyshaun Crawford | Sr. | Augusta |
| Tyson Cruickshank | Sr. | Wheaton (IL) |
| Cole Frilling | Sr. | Case Western Reserve |
| Zach Goodline | Sr. | Huntington |
| Tristan Harper | Sr. | Langston |
| Jahn Hines | Jr. | Christopher Newport |
| Jarred Houston | Sr. | Emerson |
| Jeff Hunter | Sr. | Keene State |
| Josiah Johnson | Sr. | Mary Hardin Baylor |
| Reid Jolly | Jr. | Thomas More |
| KJ Jones | Jr. | Emmanuel (GA) |
| Shawndale Jones | Sr. | Indiana (PA) |
| Brandon Knapper | Sr. | Cal State San Bernardino |
| Akuel Kot | Jr. | Fort Lewis |
| Zach Laput | Jr. | Bentley |
| Peter Lash | So. | Nebraska Wesleyan |
| Jaden Lietzke | Jr. | Oklahoma Wesleyan |
| Drew Lutz | Sr. | Bethel (IN) |
| Miles Mallory | Jr. | Randolph-Macon |
| Sam Masten | Sr. | Northern State |
| Seth Maxwell | Sr. | Indiana Wesleyan |
| Riley Minix | Sr. | Southeastern (FL) |
| Brendan Mora | Sr. | Pomona-Pitzer |
| Robert Osborne | Sr. | Virginia Union |
| Jalen Overway | Fr. | Calvin |
| Christian Parker | Jr. | Mount Union |
| Carlos Pepin | Sr. | East Stroudsburg |
| Chase Rankin | Sr. | Lincoln Memorial |
| Tyler Schmidt | Sr. | Olivet Nazarene |
| Joel Scott | Sr. | Black Hills State |
| Matt Simpson | Sr. | Florida College |
| Alex Sobel | Sr. | Middlebury |
| RJ Sunahara | Jr. | Nova Southeastern |
| Blaise Threatt | So. | Colorado Mesa |
| Markelle Turner | Jr. | Union (KY) |
| Mason Walters | Sr. | Jamestown |
| Jaden Wells | So. | Central Oklahoma |
