Kansas City, Mo. – Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee announced the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List for the 2022-23 season today, with Northern State guard Sam Masten included. The Top 50 Watch List consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.
 
Masten has been a staple in the Northern State lineup this season, starting all 26 games and averaging 33.8 minutes per contest. The Highlands Ranch, Colorado native leads the team averaging 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per contest. He is shooting a team best 57.6% from the floor and is second on the team shooting 43.6% from the 3-point line. In addition, he ranks fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.98), second in total assists (167) and eighth in assists per game (6.4).
 
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. On March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. 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 Tiechmann – 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.