Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee released its second watchlist for the Bevo Francis Award for the 2021-22 season. This list cut the initial Jan. 15 top-100 players from DII, DIII, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA men's college basketball down to just 50.
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
Aston Francis of DIII men's basketball Wheaton was the winner in 2019. Lincoln Memorial's Emanuel Terry was the last winner from DII men's basketball to bring home the award, winning in 2018, averaging a double-double (16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds per game) for the school that finished atop the DII men's basketball regular-season rankings that season. The most recent winner — Kyle Mangas — was from the NAIA and Small College Basketball decided not to name a winner in the abbreviated 2021 season.
REMEMBERING FRANCIS: A look back at his career
The list will be cut two more times before the winner is announced on April 4. Here are the important dates:
- March 15, 2022: Top 25
- April 2, 2022: Finalists
- April 4, 2022: The 2022 Bevo Francis Award winner announced
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| Nyameye Adom | Sr. | Wheaton (IL) |
| Philip Alston | So. | California (PA) |
| Buzz Anthony | Sr. | Randolph-Macon |
| Marcus Azor | Sr. | UMass Dartmouth |
| Darryl Baker | Sr. | Talladega |
| Ryan Batte | Jr. | Thomas More |
| Kevion Blaylock | Sr. | William Penn |
| Levi Borchert | Jr. | UW-Oshkosh |
| Tray Buchanan | Sr. | Emporia State |
| Myles Burns | Sr. | Loyola (LA) |
| Bryce Butler | So. | West Liberty |
| Patrick Cartier | Jr. | Hillsdale |
| Romeo Crouch | Sr. | Embry-Riddle |
| Antwaan Cushingberry | Sr. | St. Francis (IN) |
| Jack Davidson | Sr. | Wabash |
| Conner Delaney | Sr. | John Hopkins |
| Kenny Dye | Jr. | Queens (NC) |
| David Ejah | So. | St. Francis (IN) |
| Jordan Guest | Jr. | Lincoln Memorial |
| Armoni Foster | Jr. | Indiana (Pa) |
| Alex Gross | Sr. | Olivet Nazarene |
| Matthew Helwig | Sr. | North Central (IL) |
| Parker Hicks | Sr. | Lubbock Christian |
| Trevor Hudgins | Sr. | Northwest Missouri State |
| Josiah Johnson | Jr. | Mary Hardin Baylor |
| KJ Jones | So. | Emmanuel (GA) |
| Kyran Jones | Jr. | Georgetown |
| Josh Kashila | Jr. | SAGU |
| Matthew Leritz | Sr. | Illinois Wesleyan |
| Jaizec Lottie | Sr. | Flagler |
| Miles Mallory | So. | Randolph-Macon |
| Seth Maxwell | Sr. | Indiana Wesleyan |
| Riley Minix | Jr. | Southeastern (FL) |
| Karmari Newman | Sr. | William Penn |
| Tyler Riemersma | Sr. | Augustana (SD) |
| Pat Robinson | Sr. | West Liberty |
| Jaylon Scott | Sr. | Bethel (KS) |
| Matt Simpson | Sr. | Florida College |
| Andrew Sischo | Sr. | Daemen |
| Jovan Sljivancanin | Sr. | Carroll |
| Jamari Smith | So. | Queens (NC) |
| Nick Smith | Sr. | Nova Southeastern |
| RJ Sunahara | So. | Nova Southeastern |
| Sekou Sylla | Jr. | Nova Southeastern |
| Evan Thomas | Jr. | Hope |
| Ryan Turell | Sr. | Yeshiva |
| Alex Van Kalsbeek | So. | Northwestern (IA) |
| Isaiah Wade | Sr. | Central Oklahoma |
| Mason Walters | Jr. | Jamestown |
| Zach Wrightsil | Sr. | Loyola (LA) |
