IUP’s Dallis Dillard Named Bevo Francis Award Finalist
FORT MYERS, FL. — Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) redshirt senior Dallis Dillard has been recognized as one of the nation’s elite small-college basketball players, earning a spot among the top 50 finalists for the Bevo Francis Award. The announcement was made Sunday by Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee.
The Bevo Francis Award honors the top player across all levels of small college basketball, encompassing NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA programs. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the award, which has grown to become a prestigious individual honor outside of Division I basketball.
Dillard has demonstrated a standout season for the Crimson Hawks, averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. He serves as a key leader for the team on both offense and defense. His performance places him among the national leaders in steals and steals per game, highlighting his impact beyond scoring.
Within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), Dillard leads the conference in scoring, ranks second in assists, and tops the league in steals. These statistics position him as one of the most well-rounded players in the conference this season.
Dillard is one of two PSAC players to be named to the top 50 list, joined by sophomore Pace Prosser from Gannon University. This recognition underscores the strength of the conference within NCAA Division II basketball this year.
The list of finalists will be trimmed in the coming weeks, with the eventual winner being announced later in the season.
The full list of 50 finalists includes players from a variety of institutions and conferences, representing the breadth of talent in small college basketball. Among those recognized are Ty Allred of Colorado Mesa, Jeremiah Anderson of Felician, Jack Bachelor of Washburn, Benjamin Bill of Daemen, and Caedmon Bontrager of Indiana Wesleyan.
Other notable finalists include Jack Browder from Carson-Newman, Jalen Brown from Cal State Dominquez Hills, Bradley Bunch from Pikeville, Tyree Campbell from Cal State East Bay, and Drey Carter from Fairmont State. Luke Chicone of John Carroll, Micah Clark of Nelson, and Dillon Claussen of Washburn also earned recognition.
The list continues with Carl Cleveland of Young Harris, Terry Coner Jr. Of OK Baptist, Jackson Cooper of Oregon Tech, Hayden Diekhans of Montana Tech, and Dallas Dillard of IUP. Mason Dopirak from MSOE, Kyle Duke from Cumberlands, Derek Fairley from Lourdes, Osmar Garcia-Araujo from Anderson, and Dallas Graziani from Nova Southeastern are also among the finalists.
Rounding out the top 50 are Sam Grieger of UW-Lacrosse, Jair Knight of Emory, Lazerek Houston of Central Missouri, Camerin James of Keiser, Dylan Kuehl of Northern Michigan, Jalen Langsy of Northwestern (IA), Preston LeGassick of Palm Beach Atlantic, Cam Lowe of Black Hills State, Amondo Miller of Lubbock Christian, Jacob Morales of Montclair State, Chase Morgan of Maryville (TN), Jalen Overway of Calvin, Ben Pearce of Emory, Zach Philipkoski of Daemen, Pace Prosser of Gannon, Joey Ramirez of Concordia (TX), Ross Reeves of Nova Southeastern, Shane Regan of Chicago, Kye Robinson of Mary Washington, Zevi Samet of Yeshiva, Marcus Tomashek of Michigan Tech, Jesse Van Kalsbeek of Northwestern (IA), Henry Vetter of Trinity (CT), A.J. White of North Georgia, and Matthew Willenborg of Central Oklahoma, and Maceo Williams of Ashland.
