Muskingum junior guard Marcus Dempsey has been named to the 2020 Bevo Francis Award Watch List by Small College Basketball (SBC). The list consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA, and NCCAA.

The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. The prestigious award is only given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.

Dempsey currently ranks second in the nation in scoring averaging 29.9 points per game and ranks third in the Ohio Atheltic Conference (OAC) in assists registering 4.2 assists per game. He stands only 40 points shy of setting the Muskingum all-time scoring record of 1,871 points, which is held by Andy Moore (1988-92). Earlier this month, Dempsey was recognized for his excellence in the classroom by being named the OAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month.

"Congratulations to all of the players that have made the initial Bevo Francis Award Watch List of 100 players for the 2019-20 season," said SCB Founder, John McCarthy. "This is a very elite group of players that have been chosen from approximately 1,100 - 1,200 colleges and universities throughout the country. The committee takes into consideration season statistics, individual achievements, awards, milestones, and - importantly - team success. As we move further along in the process, we will dig into personal character of the candidates as well. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season."

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. On April 4th, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 6th.