BALDWIN CITY, Kan.—Southeastern University senior Ryan Atkins was one of 100 men’s basketball players selected to the Small College Basketball 2018 Bevo Francis Award watch list.
In its third season, the Bevo Francis Award honors the top men’s basketball player that competes in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, NCCAA, or USCAA.
Atkins is in his first season with the Fire, and is averaging 24.1 points per game. The Miami native has registered at least 20 points in 15 of his 18 games played, and has five 30+ point performances. Last season, Atkins was the River States Conference Player of the Year and a Third-Team NAIA All-American. In three seasons of NAIA basketball, Atkins has scored 1,829 points.
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 March 31.
The 2018 Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 2 but for the first time, the award will be presented to the award winner on May 19 at the newly created National Awards Show in conjunction with the SCB Alumni Association’s Celebration of the Game event at the Crowne Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.