FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Montana Tech men's basketball senior Hayden Diekhans earned a spot on Small College Basketball's Bevo Francis Award watchlist, the organization announced Thursday. 

The Bevo Francis Award is given annually to the men's basketball player who had the finest overall season among NAIA, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, USCAA, and NCCAA programs. The winner will be announced April 6. 

Diekhans, the 2024-25 Frontier Conference player of the year and defensive player of the year and second-team All-American, is averaging 14.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the 15th-ranked Orediggers through 18 games this season. His 46 assists and 24 steals lead the team. 

The 6-foot-6 forward from Geraldine was one of three Frontier Conference players included on the 100-man watchlist, joining Montana Western's Kyle Gruhler and Rocky Mountain's Omari Nesbit. No Frontier player has ever won the honor. 

The award's namesake, Clarence "Bevo" Francis, played for Rio Grande College (now NAIA-member University of Rio Grande) in Ohio from 1952-54. In his first season, he led the Redmen to a 39-0 record and averaged more than 50 points per game. He was lauded as the most popular basketball player in the world and was credited with saving the institution from bankruptcy. 

Small College Basketball began the Bevo Francis Award in 2016. The winner is chosen by a committee of small college basketball coaches from around the country. 

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