Case Western Reserve University graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award, selected by Small College Basketball and its National Awards Committee, which recognizes the top overall player among NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA programs each season.
This is the second straight season that a CWRU men's basketball player has been named to the watch list for the honor. Former Spartan Cole Frilling became the first CWRU player ever to be selected to the Bevo Francis Watch List last year.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball, based on season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. The award is presented to one player in Small College Basketball per season.
2024 marks the eighth year of the Bevo Francis Award. On February 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. The finalists and Bevo Francis Award winner announcement release date is TBD. More information will be available in the coming months.
Mazzeo has started all 14 games for the fifth-ranked Spartans this season, helping to lead the team to a 13-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in University Athletic Association games. CWRU has been ranked as high as second in the D3hoops.com Top 25 this year, the highest national ranking in the program's history. He has averaged 19.5 points and 4.3 assists per game this season, leading all CWRU players in both categories.
He has saved some of his best performances for the team's biggest games this season, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the D3hoops.com Classic after scoring 26 points against then fourth-ranked Oswego State and 30 points against Clark at the tournament, and scored 27 points against fourth-ranked NYU this past Friday night. Mazzeo has scored at least 20 points in seven of the team's 14 games, and 25 or more points on six occasions, including in four of the team's last five games.
Mazzeo has been selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once and has been named the UAA Athlete of the Week three times this season.
Mazzeo, who began his career at Baldwin Wallace before coming to CWRU this year as a graduate transfer, is 10th among active Division III players with 1,591 career points and sixth with 224 made three-pointers.
The Spartans will start a four-game UAA road trip this weekend, traveling to Atlanta to face #23 Emory University on Friday night and to Rochester, N.Y. to take on the University of Rochester on Sunday afternoon.
