Graduate senior Jake Hilmer has been named to Small College Basketball's first-ever Trevor Hudgins Top 25 Watch List. The Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.
 
Hilmer has started in all 126 games he has played in his career, shooting 45.6% from the floor, 39.1% from three-point land and 87.5%from the charity stripe. He ended his freshman season at 12.2 points per game, but has increased that margin every year and now sits third in the nation with 24.5 points per contest. 
 
During his time at Upper Iowa, the men's basketball program has earned their first-ever share of the NSIC South Division title (2022-23), set the school record in wins with an overall mark of 26-6 and 18-4 in the NSIC (2021-22), advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Regional Tournament (2021-22) and finished second in the NSIC South three different times (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22). 
 
The award was announced during the 2023 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday November 3rd inside the Polk Theatre in Lakeland, FL. John McCarthy had this to say about the creation of the Trevor Hudgins Award: "This award will be the most prestigious career award in all of small college basketball, and it's such a thrill to create this award in Trevor Hudgins' name," mentioned McCarthy. 
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Arguably one of the best Small College Basketball players ever, Trevor Hudgins led the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. This marked the first time in DII history that a team has won three straight National Championships. During his career, Hudgins started in every game and never missed one. He also never lost an NCAA Tournament game, leading the Bearcats to a remarkable 17-0 record in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. During his career, Hudgins led the Bearcats to four straight MIAA regular season championships and finished his career with an astounding record of 131-8.
 
​Hudgins was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022. He holds both the NWMSU scoring and assists records and finished his career with 2,829 points, which ranks first all time in the 110 year history of the MIAA. Hudgins' scoring total ranks him second all-time in Division II basketball history. He was named the MIAA Player of the Year in three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, Hudgins was named the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award winner, signifying the top small college basketball player in the United States. In 2022 he was selected by the Houston Rockets of the NBA on a dual contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum had this to say about the impact Hudgins had:
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The overall intent of the Trevor Hudgins Award is two-fold. One to keep the collegiate legacy of Trevor Hudgins alive and continue to tell his story to the next generation. Secondly, to provide a national platform to honor outstanding players – and ultimately one player – within small college basketball on an annual basis.
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The Trevor Hudgins Award is sponsored by Northwest Missouri State University, Northwest Missouri State Alumni Association, the Scribner Family Foundation Fund, Windmill Benefits and the Kansas State Credit Union. For more information on the Trevor Hudgins Award or Small College Basketball, please head to smallcollegebasketball.com.