KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Presented annually to the top player across NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and the NCCAA, Nova Southeastern men's basketball standout Mark Matthews has been selected to the 2020 Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List, announced by Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee on Wednesday.

This season marks the third in a row in which a Sharks player has made the prestigious list after former point guard David Dennis was recognized in both 2018 and 2019.
 
Named an All-American in 2018-19, Matthews has picked up right where he left off in his redshirt-senior campaign. The native of Bonita Springs, Fla. currently leads the nation's No. 1 offense in scoring (21.5 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), assists (4.7 apg) and field goal percentage (63.3%). Matthews has eclipsed 20 points in nine of 13 starts, registering a career-high 36 in a road win at No. 14 Florida Southern, and has helped guide NSU to No. 9 in the most recent National Association of Basketball coaches (NABC) Division II poll. He enters Wednesday's matchup with Palm Beach Atlantic just 40 points shy of reaching 1,000 in his two-year NSU career.

"Congratulations to all of the players that have made the initial Bevo Francis Award Watch List of 100 players for the 2019-20 season," said Small College Basketball's John McCarthy. "This is a very elite group of players that have been chosen from approximately 1,100 - 1,200 colleges and universities throughout the country. The committee takes into consideration season statistics, individual achievements, awards, milestones, and - importantly - team success. As we move further along in the process, we will dig into personal character of the candidates as well. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season."

The Bevo Francis Award was created in 2015 and is named after Clarence "Bevo" Francis. Francis played two seasons at what is now the University of Rio Grande. In his first season, he led the team to a 39-0 record averaging 50.1 points per game, highlighted by a 116-point performance against Ashland College in Kentucky.

This season marks the fifth year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial and Aston Francis of Wheaton College.

SCB will trim the Watch List to 50 players on Feb. 15. The select group will then be narrowed down to 25 players on Mar. 15. The finalists will be revealed on Apr. 4 before the winner is officially crowned on Apr. 6.

To view all 100 players on the Watch List, please click here.