Jake Hilmer was tabbed on the Trevor Hudgins Top 15 Watch List, making the cut from the original 25.

Kansas City, MO – The National Awards Committee and Small College Basketball are proud to
announce the Trevor Hudgins Award Top 15 Watch List for the 2023-24 season. After the
announcement of the creation of the award in November, 2023-24 marks the inaugural season for
the award. The award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall career
within Small College Basketball.
 
John McCarthy had this to say about the Top 15 Watch List:
"Congratulations to all 15 players on the Trevor Hudgins Award Watch List," mentioned McCarthy.
"This is, obviously, an elite group of players that have had tremendous collegiate careers, entirely at
the small college level. Thank you to our National Awards Committee for their insight on many
players from throughout the country."
 
Considerations for the Trevor Hudgins Award are 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 is the highest award given to a four-year (or five-year) player within Small
College Basketball. The video of the finalists will be released on Friday April 5, and the award winner
will be announced through a video presentation on Monday April 8, at halftime of the NCAA Division
I National Championship Game.
 
The award is named in honor of Northwest Missouri State's Trevor Hudgins, who had a historic
career with the Bearcats. He led the Bearcats to three consecutive NCAA Division II 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. 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.
 
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.
 
The Small College Basketball National Awards Committee consists of the following coaches: Gary
Stewart – Stevenson(Md.), Chris Briggs - Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen - Rocky Mountain (Mont.),
Mark Berokoff –Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Sam Hargraves – Olivet (Mich.),
Richard Westerlund – Northwestern (OH), Chase Tiechmann – Florida College, Aaron Siebenthall –
Ottawa (Kan.), Mark Vanderslice – USC – Aiken, Matt O'Brien – Southwestern (KS), Chris Wright –
Langston (OK), Ben Thompson – Emory & Henry, Justin Leslie – Midwestern State, Raul Placeres –
Maryville College (TN), Chris Martin – Loras (IA), John Lamanna – Whitman (WA), Brian Miller –
MSOE, Justin Downer – Point Loma Nazarene.
 
For more information on the Trevor Hudgins Award or Small College Basketball, please head to
smallcollegebasketball.com.
 
Trevor Hudgins Top 15 Watch List
Drew Blair MN-Duluth
Anthony Brown MidAmerica Nazarene
Daniel Cook St. John Fisher
Tyler Dearman Guilford
Issac Fink Augustana (SD)
Jake Hilmer Upper Iowa
Jeff Hunter Keene State
Zach Laput Bentley
KJ Jones Emmanuel (GA)
Josiah Johnson Mary Hardin-Baylor
Elijah Malone Grace
Christian Parker Mount Union
Ethan Porterfield IUP
Tyler Schmidt Olivet Nazarene
Jeremiah Sparks Oswego State