The MIAA announced its men’s basketball postseason awards and teams. Northwest Missouri’s Trevor Hudgins was named as the player of the year with Ryan Hawkins being selected as defensive player of the year and Ben McCollum being voted coach of the year. The freshman of the year was awarded to Will Eames of Missouri Western.
Trevor Hudgins guided the Bearcats to the MIAA regular-season championship and an 18-1 record in the Association. He ranked first in the conference with 6.0 assists per game and a 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio as he also logged the most minutes in the league at 36.3 minutes per game. Hudgins was first in three-point percentage and three-point field goals per game as he finished third in scoring with 19.6 points per game. His three triple-double also ranked third in NCAA Division II.
Ryan Hawkins was tabbed as the defensive player of the year in back-to-back seasons. He led the MIAA in steals with 2.2 per game and 65 steals. He grabbed 160 defensive rebounds which ranked sixth in the league. Hawkins propelled NW’s defense to allow just 62.7 points in conference games and opponents to shoot 33.4 percent from the three-point arc, both are top in the Association. He also finished fifth in the league with 34.2 minutes played per night.
For Ben McCollum, it is his sixth MIAA coach of the year award. He led the Bearcats to their seventh consecutive regular-season title this season after finishing with an 18-1 record in MIAA play. Northwest Missouri led the conference in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, turnover margin, assist-to-turnover ratio, scoring margin, scoring defense, and steals. They also ranked second in scoring.
Missouri Western’s Will Eames was selected as freshmen of the year. He ranked sixth in the Association with 7.3 rebounds per game and 11th in blocked shots. For the season, Eames averaged 11.1 points and shot 43.8 percent from the field. He helped the Griffons secure the fourth seed in the MIAA men’s basketball championship and improve their win total by five wins while more than doubling their conference wins from last season.
Below is the complete list of postseason awards and teams for the 2020 MIAA men’s basketball season. The MIAA Basketball Championships presented by Citizens Bank & Trust are March 4-8 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, click here.
2020 MIAA Postseason Awards Player of the Year – Trevor Hudgins – Northwest Missouri, Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year – Ryan Hawkins – Northwest Missouri, Junior Freshman of the Year – Will Eames – Missouri Western Coach of the Year – Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri
2020 MIAA All-Defensive Team Missouri Southern – Braelon Walker, Senior Northeastern State – Josh Ihek, Senior Northwest Missouri – Diego Bernard, Sophomore Northwest Missouri – Ryan Hawkins, Junior Rogers State – Tavian Davis, Senior
2020 All-MIAA First-Team Cam Martin – Missouri Southern, Junior Tyrell Carroll – Missouri Western, Sophomore Ryan Hawkins – Northwest Missouri, Junior Trevor Hudgins – Northwest Missouri, Sophomore Tyler Geiman – Washburn, Junior
2020 All-MIAA Second-Team Kinzer Lambert – Missouri Southern, Senior Morgan Soucie – Nebraska Kearney, Senior Caleb Smith – Northeastern State, Senior Kendrick Thompson – Northeastern State, Senior Marques Sumner – Rogers State, Senior
2020 All-MIAA Third-Team Jared Vitztum – Fort Hays State, Junior Elyjah Clark – Missouri Southern, Senior Marshawn Blackmon – Newman, Senior Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri, Sophomore Tavian Davis – Rogers State, Senior
2020 All-MIAA Honorable Mention Central Oklahoma – Cam Givens – Sophomore Emporia State – Brenden Van Dyke – Junior Lincoln – Jonell Burton – Senior Missouri Western – Will Eames – Freshman, Tyus Millhollin – Senior Nebraska Kearney – AJ Jackson – Senior, Kyle Juhl – Senior Northwest Missouri – Ryan Welty – Senior Pittsburg State – AJ Walker – Senior Rogers State – Chris Miller – Senior, Brewster Peacock – Junior Washburn – Jonny Clausing – Sophomore