Kankakee Times

Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball junior guard Tyler Schmidt was named to the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List. The organization announced the watch list on Sunday afternoon.

Schmidt becomes the third Tiger all-time to be recognized on the list, joining Nic Reed who earned the honor in 2020 and Alex Gross in 2022. Both Reed and Gross were named finalists in their respective seasons.

Schmidt is one of just three players from the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) to make the list, alongside IU-South Bend's Dejon Barney and St. Xavier's Jaeden King. A total of 28 players from the NAIA made the top 100.

Schmidt has had a historic season thus far for the Purple and Yellow Gold, becoming the first-ever player in program history to win three consecutive CCAC Player of the Week awards, receiving the honor on Nov. 16, 23, and 29. He added a fourth Player of the Week honor on Jan. 3 when he scored 26 points in a 75-69 win over Taylor. The Valparaiso, Ind. native is averaging 23.0 points per game this season which is the top mark in the CCAC and the sixth-best average in the NAIA.

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.  This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.

The list will be narrowed down to the top 50 on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and down to the top 25 on Wednesday, March 15, while the finalists will be determined on Saturday, April 1 and the winner will be announced on Monday, April 3. 

Click here to learn more about the award and to find the full list.

Original source can be found here