Sponsors of the Trevor Hudgins Award
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State Alumni Association
Scribner Family Foundation Fund
Windmill Benefits
Kansas State Credit Union
Members of the National Awards Committee include the following coaches: Gary Stewart - Stevenson (MD), Chris Briggs - Georgetown College (KY), Bill Dreikosen - Rocky Mountain (MT), Mark Berokoff - Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly - Florida Southern, Sam Hargraves - Olivet, Richard Westerlund - Great Lakes Christian, Chase Teichmann - Florida College, Aaron Siebenthall - Ottawa (KS), Mark Vanderslice - USC - Aiken, Matt O'Brien - Southwestern (KS), Chris Wright - Langston (OK), Ben Thompson - Emory & Henry, Justin Leslie - Midwestern State, Raul Placeres - Maryville College (TN), Chris Martin - Loras (IA), John Lamanna - Whitman (WA), Brian Miller - MSOE, Justin Downer - Point Loma Nazarene.
April 5, 2024 Finalists
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Statement from Trevor Hudgins
First, I would like to thank God for allowing me to play the game I love and putting me in this position. Next, I am so grateful to my parents for the sacrifices they made for me to have a basketball career, and they have supported me through it all. I would also like to give a huge thanks to Northwest Missouri State & Coach McCollum for believing in me and making me the player I am today.
I am extremely honored and blessed to have this award named after me. I couldn’t imagine the career that was before me when I was a redshirt freshman at Northwest. There were a lot of growing pains in the beginning of my career, but I had my teammates and coaching staff with me through it all. Without my teammates, coaches, and the community of Northwest this award wouldn’t exist. I had an opportunity to leave Northwest in 2021 (the year after Covid). The transfer portal was hectic and I gained another year of eligibility. Everyone encouraged me to go to a Division I school. I just couldn’t leave the place that made me the player that I was becoming. I couldn’t leave knowing that there was more for me there. After my time at Northwest I could leave proud with no regrets. That leads me to say....
Staying humble and loyal were the biggest staples to my career as a Bearcat. I have great pride when it comes to those qualities and I understood that I couldn’t play my best if my teammates weren’t there with me every step of the way. I understood that I was still progressing and becoming what I knew I could be, playing at Northwest.
I hope that with this award it reminds you that hard work and loyalty are still valued and can benefit you more than what you can even imagine.
Thank you, John McCarthy and SCB for naming this award after me. I will be forever grateful.
- Trevor Hudgins
SCB Announces the Creation of the Trevor Hudgins Award
Kansas City, Mo. – Small College Basketball is extremely excited to announce the creation of the Trevor Hudgins Award under the umbrella of Small College Basketball. The award was announced during the 2023 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday November 3rd inside the Polk Theatre in Lakeland, FL. John McCarthy had this to say about the creation of the Trevor Hudgins Award:
"This award will be the most prestigious career award in all of small college basketball, and it's such a thrill to create this award in Trevor Hudgins' name,” mentioned McCarthy. “I've run out of adjectives to describe Trevor's collegiate career at Northwest Missouri State, as he's clearly a winner at an extremely high level, and he's easily among the most accomplished and decorated players in the history of college basketball at the small college levels. This is a great day for college basketball, and a special moment for Trevor Hudgins, Northwest Missouri State University and Small College Basketball."
The Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be 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 will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.
Arguably one of the best Small College Basketball players ever, Trevor Hudgins led the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. This marked the first time in DII history that a team has won three straight 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. During his career, Hudgins led the Bearcats to four straight MIAA regular season championships an finished his career with an astounding record of 131-8.
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. Hudgins scoring total ranks him second all-time in Division II basketball history. He was named the MIAA Player of the Year in three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, Hudgins was named the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award winner, signifying the top small college basketball player in the United States. In 2022 he was selected by the Houston Rockets of the NBA on a dual contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum had this to say about the impact Hudgins had:
“Trevor is the best player in the history of Division II basketball and his accomplishments and his actions say that,” stated McCollum. “Trevor has never lost a postseason game. He’s won multiple conference championships, multiple conference tournament championships and he is an unbelievable human being. He is probably a better person than he is a player. He works with a high level of humility. He has a servant heart. He has meant a lot to Northwest Missouri State and Division II basketball and highlighted how high a level it is at Division II.”
The overall intent of the Trevor Hudgins Award is two-fold. One to keep the collegiate legacy of Trevor Hudgins alive and continue to tell his story to the next generation. Secondly, to provide a national platform to honor outstanding players – and ultimately one player – within small college basketball on an annual basis.
The Trevor Hudgins Award is sponsored by Northwest Missouri State University, Northwest Missouri State Alumni Association, the Scribner Family Foundation Fund, Windmill Benefits and the Kansas State Credit Union. For more information on the Trevor Hudgins Award or Small College Basketball, please head to smallcollegebasketball.com.