The National Awards Committee and Small College Basketball cut their initial Bevo Francis Award top 100 watchlist in half, and only 50 remain in the hunt as conference championship tournaments inch closer. The award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within small college basketball based on season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
DII MEN’S BASKETBALL CENTRAL
This is the eighth year of the award. Previous DII men’s basketball winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial in 2018, Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State in 2022, and RJ Sunahara of Nova Southeastern in 2023. Winners from other divisions include Aston Francis of Wheaton in 2019, Kyle Mangas of Indiana Wesleyan in 2020 and Elijah Malone of Grace in 2024. The award was not presented during the 2021 season.
On March 15, the list will be reduced to the Top 25 players. Then, on April 5, the finalists of this year’s award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 7.
Some DII men’s basketball facts about the top 50 include:
- Nova Southeastern has three players on the list, more than any other school. Daemen, Florida Southern, Lincoln Memorial and Washburn all have two.
- There is only one freshman among the top 50, and that is Elyjah Freeman from Lincoln Memorial.
- This is the first year since Justin Pitts won in 2017 that Northwest Missouri State has no one on the list. Typically, the Bearcats have had multiple players, with two winners all time.
The Bevo Francis Award Top 50 watchlist
| Player | School |
|---|---|
| Tray Alexander | Pace |
| Jack Bachelor | Washburn |
| Braxton Benham | Berry |
| Benjamin Bill | Daemen |
| Jadin Booth | Florida Southern |
| Adam Brazil | Hampden-Sydney |
| Octavio Brito | Keene State |
| Ryker Cisarik | Nova Southeastern |
| Tae Dozier | Georgetown |
| Wes Enis | Lincoln Memorial |
| Elyjah Freeman | Lincoln Memorial |
| Demitri Gardner | Augusta |
| Hobert Grayson | Ouachita Baptist |
| Dallas Graziani | Nova Southeastern |
| Jacob Hanna | Washburn |
| Chaze Harris | Life |
| Justin Hemphill | Daemen |
| Jahn Hines | Christopher Newport |
| Tristan How | New York University |
| MJ Iraldi | Nova Southeastern |
| Cameron Kahn | DBU |
| Reed Kemp | Maryville (TN) |
| Antwan Kimmons | Concordia-St. Paul |
| Jair Knight | Emory |
| Peyton Law | Freed-Hardeman |
| Jaden Lietzke | Oklahoma Wesleyan |
| Lucas Lorenzen | Dordt |
| Kaleb Lowery | The Masters |
| E.J. Matthews-Spratley | Stockton |
| Jalen McCoy. USC Aiken | USC Aiken |
| Erza McKenna. Mobile | Mobile |
| Latavious Mitchell | Florida Memorial |
| Samaje Morgan | College of Idaho |
| Tommy Murr | Alabama Huntsville |
| Kashie Natt | LSU Alexandria |
| Collin Parker | Columbia (MO) |
| Ben Pearce | Emory |
| Logan Pearson | Wisconsin-Platteville |
| Shane Regan | Wesleyan |
| Nick Reid | Upper Iowa |
| Ian Scott | Grace |
| Brayden Shorter | Washburn |
| Joey Skoff | Morningside |
| Aamari Smith | Whittier |
| Tristan Smith | Concordia (NE) |
| Alex Steen | Florida Southern |
| Marcus Tomashek | Michigan Tech |
| Caleb Van De Griend | Minot State |
| Joshua Van Gorp | Central (IA) |
| Alex Van Kalsbeek | Northwestern (IA) |
