KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Minnesota State senior guard Kyreese Willingham has been named to the Small College Basketball Top 25 Watch List for the Trevor Hudgins Award.

The award is named in honor of Northwest Missouri State's Trevor Hudgins, who had a historic career with the Bearcats. He led the Bearcats to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. During his career, Hudgins started in every game and never missed one. He also never lost an NCAA Tournament game, leading the Bearcats to a remarkable 17-0 record in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Hudgins was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022. He holds both the NWMSU scoring and assists records and finished his career with 2,829 points, which ranks first all time in the 110 year history of the MIAA.
 
Considerations for the Trevor Hudgins Award are overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This is the highest award given to a four-year (or five-year) player within Small College Basketball. On March 1, the list will be reduced to 15 players. Finalists will be released on April 5, and the award winner will be announced on April 7.

This season, Willingham has averaged 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. He has started in all 22 games for the Mavericks this season and recently recorded a career-high 34 points against Concordia-St. Paul. For his career, Willingham ranks 13th all-time in scoring at Minnesota State with 1,471 points.

Minnesota State continues its season today as it hosts Winona State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Taylor Center.