via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Oregon Tech point-guard Jamison Guerra was named to the Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award Top-100 Watch List, announced today by Small College Basketball.
The “Bevo” Francis Award is given yearly to the top small college basketball player in America, selected among all NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA teams. The award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations include season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
Next month, a Top-50 list will be released, followed by a Top-25 list in early March – prior to a group of 10 players who will be on the final award ballot.
Guerra, a 2024 third-team NAIA All-American, currently leads the Cascade Conference in assists per game (6.1) and is among the Top-10 in the circuit in 3-point percentage and steals per game. He becomes the second OIT player to make the initial Watch List – as Mitchell Fink was honored in 2020, reaching the Top-25 Watch List.
Last season, Elijah Malone of Grace became the second NAIA player to win the award.
“Bevo” Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. When he arrived on campus, the school had 38 male students enrolled in the school and was on the verge of bankruptcy, planning to close its doors at the end of the 1952-53 school year. In the season before he arrived at Rio Grande, the team had gone 4-19. During his two seasons at Rio Grande, Bevo became the most popular basketball player in the world and ultimately helped to save the school from bankruptcy. During his first year, the Redmen went 39-0, and Bevo scored 1,954 points and averaged 50.1 points per game. Against Ashland College, Francis scored 116 points, which included 55 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
