KANSAS CITY, Mo. – St. Mary's University senior guard
Damani Claxton was recently announced as one of the 100 players on the Bevo Francis Award Watch list.
Claxton currently leads the Rattlers with 15.4 points per game. He was the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2024-25 and has scored nine or more points in nine straight games. Claxton also leads the LSC in free throw percentage (88.9 percent), ranking 33rd nationally.
"Congratulations to the 100 players on the Bevo Francis Award Watch List," stated McCarthy. "This is a highly prestigious list, as there are approximately 14,000 - 16,000 players that play basketball at the small college levels, and these 100 players have been instrumental in leading their teams to great success thus far this season. Also, thank you to the Small College Basketball National Awards Committee for a great deal of insight, and thank you to all of the coaches and administrators who nominated candidates for the Bevo Francis Award Watch List."
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season withinSmall College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as it is given to only one player in SmallCollege Basketball each season.
2026 marks the ninth year of the Bevo Francis Award. On February 15, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. Onemonth later on March 15 the Top 25 players will be announced. On April 4, the finalists of this year's award will beannounced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 6.
Claxton is the first Rattler to ever be included on the Top 100 list.
