Daemen players on the bevo francis top 100 watch list 2026

Wildcats Place 3 On Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List

1/15/2026 1:15:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University basketball stars Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.), Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) have each been named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List which was announced by Small College Basketball today.

A national organization that spotlights the achievements of non-NCAA Division I men's basketball teams and student-athletes, Small College Basketball has presented the Bevo Francis Award annually to the player deemed to have had the finest overall season. The award is named for the former basketball star at Rio Grande College who averaged 50.1 points per game during the 1952-53 season.

Bill, a 6-foot-10 redshirt junior center, has posted six double-doubles in 11 games this season, and is averaging 17.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per outing, while shooting 69.1 percent from the field. Bill was named to the all-tournament team at both the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic and the East Region Challenge, and has been named East Coast Conference Player of the Week on two occasions this season. The Daemen big man has been out of action since mid-December with an injury, but is expected to return to the lineup this season.

Bill is appearing on the Bevo Francis Award radar for a second consecutive season. He advanced to the award's Top 50 and Top 25 Watch Lists last year, when he was also named a consensus All-American and the ECC Player of the Year.

Hemphill is a 6-foot-6 redshirt senior forward who stuffs the stat sheet on a nightly basis for the Wildcats. He leads the team in assists (5.1 apg) and steals (2.1 spg) while also producing 10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He has been a three-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, while also garnering ECC Player of the Week honors once, and is the only player to rank among the league's top three leaders in assists, steals, rebounds and blocks. Hemphill, who scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season, ranks in the top 10 in program history for career rebounds (789), assists (334), steals (161) and blocks (129). He is the only player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists.

Today's announcement marks the second straight season that Hemphill has appeared on the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List.

Philipkoski has taken his game to another level after being an All-ECC Third Team selection last season. He is producing a team-high 18.1 points per game, with seven 20-point outings to his credit. A three-time ECC Player of the Week recipient, Philipkoski is also contributing 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and ranks fifth in scoring, rebounding and assists among the ECC leaders. The 6-foot-4 junior guard has also shown a flare for the dramatic in several Daemen victories. His 13 points in the final 11:22 vs. Saint Anselm on Nov. 15 helped Daemen turn a slim two-point lead into a 17-point win. In a win over No. 5 Fairmont State on Nov. 18, he tallied all 19 of his points in the final 10 minutes, including the go-ahead three-pointer at the 9:18 mark. And, he collected an offensive rebound and scored with five second remaining to lift Daemen to an 81-79 victory over Charleston (W.Va.) on Nov. 22.

The Bill-Hemphill-Philipkoski trio has led Daemen to an 18-0 start this season, including a 6-0 mark in ECC play, and a No. 2 ranking in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll. The Wildcats are one of just three teams to have three players named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List, joining fellow nationally-ranked Division II teams Washburn (No. 1) and Nova Southeastern (No. 3).

Small College Basketball will continue the Bevo Francis Award process with the announcement of Top 50 (Feb. 15) and Top 25 (Mar. 15) Watch Lists. Finalists for the award will be revealed on April 4, and the award recipient will be crowned on April 6.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Follow the Daemen University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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