(Maryville, MO) The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball continues to reap the rewards after winning the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season title for an eighth straight season.
Northwest took home three of the four men’s basketball specialty awards and landed four players on the all-league teams as announced by the MIAA today.
Junior Trevor Hudgins (Player of the Year, First Team All-MIAA), senior Ryan Hawkins (First Team All-MIAA, All-Defensive Team), junior Diego Bernard (Defensive Player of the Year, Second Team All-MIAA, All-Defensive Team), sophomore Luke Waters (Honorable Mention All-MIAA and head coach Ben McCollum (MIAA Coach of the Year) collected conference accolades following a vote of the league coaches.
For the sixth straight season the MIAA Player of the Year resides in Maryville. Junior guard Trevor Hudgins (Manhattan, Kansas) captured back-to-back MIAA Player of the Year honors. Hudgins also secured first-team all-MIAA status for the second straight season. Hudgins averaged 19.2 points per game and shot 53.9% from the floor. Hudgins shot 52.8% from three-point range. He dished out 111 assists (5.0/game) and possesses a 3.16 career assist to turnover ratio, which ranks No. 2 among all NCAA men’s basketball players. Hudgins had nine 20-point scoring games as well as a pair of 30-point scoring performances this season. He drained eight three-pointers in two separate games (vs. Emporia State and vs. Missouri Southern).
Northwest’s MIAA Player of the Year Award Winners
1971 – Carl Jenkins
1998 – Shakey Harrington
2004 – Kelvin Parker
2007 – Hunter Henry
2014 – DeShaun Cooper
2016 – Justin Pitts
2017 – Justin Pitts
2018 – Justin Pitts
2019 – Joey Witthus
2020 – Trevor Hudgins
2021 – Trevor Hudgins
Bernard (St. Joseph, Missouri) was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. Bernard also moved up to second-team all-MIAA status and tallied his third straight appearance on the MIAA’s all-Defensive squad. Bernard averaged 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks in helping Northwest to a 21-1 overall record. Bernard had 13 double-figure scoring games, including a pair of 20-point performances. He shot 53.7% from the field and 43.1% from three-point range.
Northwest’s MIAA Defensive Player of the Year Award Winners
2015 – Matt Wallace
2019 – Ryan Hawkins
2020 – Ryan Hawkins
2021 – Diego Bernard
Senior Ryan Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) earned first-team all-MIAA honors for the second straight season. He also landed a spot on the MIAA’s all-Defensive squad for the third consecutive year. Hawkins averaged 21.4 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game and 1.8 steals per game. Hawkins shot 53.8% from the field, including 44.4% from three-point range. Hawkins produced five double-doubles in 2020-21. He had 12 20-point games and four 30-point scoring games this year.
Northwest’s MIAA All-Defensive Team Members
2003 – Kelvin Parker
2004 – Kelvin Parker
2006 – Mose Howard
2007 – John Hawkins
2008 – Mat Withers
2009 – Hunter Henry
2012 – Jake Reinders
2013 – Matt Wallace
2014 – Bryston Williams
2015 – Matt Wallace
2017 – Chris-Ebou Ndow
2018 – Brett Dougherty
2019 – Ryan Hawkins, Diego Bernard
2020 – Ryan Hawkins, Diego Bernard
2021 – Ryan Hawkins, Diego Bernard
Sophomore Luke Waters (Olathe, Kansas) earned honorable mention all-MIAA honors for the first time in his collegiate career. Waters averaged 9.7 points and shot 58.5% from the field. Waters buried 25 three-pointers and shot 42.4% from beyond the three-point arc. Waters has been a consistent contributor over the last seven games by averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting 63.2% from the field. Waters has also buried 13-of-27 three-pointers over the last seven games. Waters has reached double-figure scoring in six of the last seven games including 16 vs. Missouri Southern, 15 at Emporia State, 17 at Washburn, 15 vs. Nebraska-Kearney and 16 vs. Fort Hays State. On the season, Waters has reached double-figure scoring 11 times – including a season-high 20 points at Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 16.
Ben McCollum secured his seventh MIAA Coach of the Year Award after leading the Bearcats to their eighth consecutive MIAA regular season title. Northwest produced an MIAA single-season record 21 league wins with a scoring margin of +15.2. McCollum has guided the Bearcats to 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, including a mark of 90-2 over the past three years. The Storm Lake, Iowa, native possesses a career record of 293-77 (.792 winning percentage).
Northwest’s MIAA Coach of the Year Award Winners
1989 – Steve Tappmeyer
1998 – Steve Tappmeyer
2001 – Steve Tappmeyer
2007 – Steve Tappmeyer
2012 – Ben McCollum
2015 – Ben McCollum (co-title)
2016 – Ben McCollum
2017 – Ben McCollum
2018 – Ben McCollum
2019 – Ben McCollum
2020 – Ben McCollum
2021 – Ben McCollum
Northwest will begin defense of its MIAA Tournament title tonight at 5:30 p.m. against Emporia State in Bearcat Arena. Northwest has captured five straight MIAA Tournament championships.
2020-21 Men’s Basketball All-MIAA Teams
First-Team
Tyler Geiman – Washburn, Senior*
Ryan Hawkins – Northwest Missouri, Senior*
Trevor Hudgins – Northwest Missouri, Junior*
Cam Martin – Missouri Southern, Senior*
Jared Vitztum – Fort Hays State, Senior
* denotes unanimous selection
Second-Team
Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri, Junior
Tyrell Carroll – Missouri Western, Junior
Jumah’Ri Turner – Emporia State, Senior
Isaiah Wade – Central Oklahoma, Senior
Sevon Witt – Lincoln, Sophomore
Third-Team
Bobby Arthur-Williams – Pittsburg State, Graduate
Quinton Drayton – Lincoln, Junior
Callen Haydon – Central Oklahoma, Junior
Devin Pullum – Rogers State, Senior
Stan Scott – Missouri Southern, Senior
All-Defensive Team
Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri, Junior
Tyrell Carroll – Missouri Western, Junior
Tyler Geiman – Washburn, Senior
Ryan Hawkins – Northwest Missouri, Senior
Cam Potts – Lincoln, Senior
Honorable Mentions
Central Missouri – Cameron Hunter, Senior
Central Oklahoma – Cam Givens, Junior
Emporia State – Austin Downing, Senior
Fort Hays State – Kaleb Hammeke, Freshman
Lincoln – Cam Potts, Senior
Missouri Western – Caleb Bennett, Junior; Will Eames, Sophomore; Reese Glover, Sophomore
Nebraska Kearney – Austin Luger, Senior; Jake Walker, Senior
Newman – Joel Boyce, Junior
Northeastern State – Trey Sampson, Junior
Northwest Missouri – Luke Waters, Sophomore
Pittsburg State – Quentin Hardrict Jr., Junior
Rogers State – Darraja Parnell, Senior; Brewster Peacock, Senior
Washburn – Jonny Clausing, Junior.; Jalen Lewis, Junior
