FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State graduate guard Kaleb Hammeke has been named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List, released by Small College Basketball on Wednesday, January 15. It is the second-straight year Hammeke has been named to the list, which encompasses players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, NCCAA, and USCAA.
Consideration for the award is based on season statistics, individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. It is a prestigious award given to only one player within the coverage of Small College Basketball.
The namesake of the award, Clarence "Bevo" Francis, played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. Over two seasons at Rio Grande, Bevo averaged 47.1 points per game in 39 official contests at both the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels. He still to this day owns the NAIA single-season scoring average record, set at 48.3 points per game in 1952-53 (12 games), and the NCAA Division II single-season scoring average record of 46.5 points per game in 1953-54 (27 games). He scored a single-game NCAA Division II record 113 points in 1954, and also had a 116-point game against a college not recognized for official records.
The winner of the award in four of the last seven years has been from NCAA Division II institutions. That list includes Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State (2017), Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial (2018), Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State (2022), and RJ Sunahar of Nova Southeastern (2023).Hammeke is among five student-athletes from the MIAA being considered for the award, joining four players from Washburn. He is a four-time All-MIAA selection, which included first-team honors the last two years. He is a two-time All-District selection for the Central Region and an all-region selection by the D2CCA last year. Hammeke was also the MIAA Freshman of the Year back in 2020-21.
Last week on January 9, Hammeke became the all-time leading scorer in FHSU Men's Basketball history, now with 1,767 points. He is on the verge of becoming the first player in FHSU history to record both 500 assists and 500 rebounds. He already passed the 500 assist mark back on January 4 and has five rebounds to go to accomplish the feat.