As it turned out being the best player in all of Division II basketball was not enough to win the Bevo Francis Award for Notre Dame College redshirt senior Will Vorhees. Aston Francis of DIII Wheaton College brought home the award named by Small College Basketball on Monday night. The Bevo Francis Award is presented annually by Small College basketball to the player who had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations are made for season statistics, individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. All men's basketball players at the NCAA Division III and Division II, NAIA Division I and II, USCAA Division I and II- and- NCCAA Division I and II are all eligible for the award.
This is the fourth season of the award and Vorhees was one of nine finalists named after 1100 players began on the watch list back in January. Francis is the first Division III player to win the award since its inception. The previous three winners were Dominez Burnett of Davenport ( NAIA Division II- 2016-) Justin Pitts (NCAA II- Northwest Missouri State 2017-) Emanuel Terry- Lincoln Memorial (NCAA II- 2018.) The award will be presented on May 11th at the Crowne Plaza in Kansas City, Mo.
The committee that comprises the voters for this award were the following coaches:
Tobin Anderson: St. Thomas Aquinas (NY)
Gerald Holmes: Bloomfield (NJ)
Gary Stewart- Stevenson (Md.)
Arlen Galloway- Wentworth (Mass.)
Chris Briggs- Georgetown (Ky.)
Bill Dreikosen- Rocky Mountain (Mon)
Kurt Pleasant- Rochester (Mich.)
Ryan Kane- Ripon (Wisc.)
Mark Berekoff- Hillsdale Baptist- (Okla.)
Mike Donnelly- Florida Southern
Rhett Soliday- Vanguard (Cali)
Sam Hargraves- Alma (Mich.)
Ryan Looney- Point Loma Nazarene (Cali)
Francis led all of DIII in six categories. That includes total points (1,096-) points per game (34.3-) 3 pointer's made (173-) 3-pointer's made per game (5.4 3-pointer's per game-) field goals made (348-) and- free throws made (227.) He helped Wheaton to the Division III Final Four for the first time in school history. Francis scored 44.8 points per game in the tournament which was 7.5 points more per game than the previous mark set by Kyle Myrick of Lincoln (PA.) Francis shattered the DIII record scoring 62 points versus Marietta in an NCAA tournament game. His 12 3-pointer's in that same game tied the DIII record for 3-pointer's made in a contest.
Vorhees was the MEC Player of The Year- DII National Player Of The Year- a First team All-American by both the Basketball Times and the DII Commisioner's Association. Vorhees led NDC to the first ever outright title as he was named the Most Outstanding Player in the MEC Tournament. Vorhees was the first player in MEC hisotry to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a single season. He is now the all-time leading scorer in NDC history (2,761 points.) He averaged 28.8 points and 11.3 rebounds on the season. Vorhees closed out his career in the NCAA tournament scoring 44 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Vorhees scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds in the Reese's All-Star Game in Evansville.
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