KANSAS CITY, MO. – Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee have announced the 2022 Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List and a pair of Royals men's basketball players were recognized on the list. Junior guard Kenny Dye and sophomore forward Jamari Smith were named to the Top 50 Watch List, as announced by the committee on Monday afternoon.  

"Congratulations to every one of the 50 players on the Bevo Francis Award Watch List," said John McCarthy, founder of Small College Basketball.  "Each player is in the midst of a tremendous season, and has helped to lead their respective teams to tremendous success thus far.  This process is incredibly tough, as there are so, so many fantastic players within college basketball. I'm very grateful to our National Awards Committee for their time and insight." 

The Royals' have put together an impressive final stretch to their season with just three games remaining, including Wednesday night.  They are back in the Top 10 in both the NABC Coaches Poll and the D2SIDA Media Poll this week, and have regained the top spot in the Southeast Region.  Queens is 22-3 overall record, 18-3 in South Atlantic Conference play, pitting them in a tie for first place with No. 8 Lincoln Memorial.  Kenny Dye is ranked in the top 25 with 5.9 assists per game, second in the conference, while also pouring in 14.0 points and pulling down 4.1 rebounds. Dye sits atop the conference draining an incredible 51.9-percent of his three-point opportunities. This season, Dye became the 19^th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
 
While Dye locks down the perimeter, Jamari Smith dominates the paint for the Royals. The sophomore is dropping in a team-high 17.0 points per game while hauling in 6.7 rebounds per contest. Smith has been very efficient with his shots as the forward is making 53.3-percent of his field goals so far this season, to go along with seven double doubles. The Jonesboro, Georgia native is top five in the conference in points per game. The Preseason First Team All-Conference selection dropped a career-high 28 points in the Royals victory over nationally ranked Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 18.

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. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.  2022 marks the sixth year of the Bevo Francis Award, after the award was not presented in 2021. .

On March 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 25 players. On April 2nd, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 4th.  

Fans can access the full list of award recipients here.

Queens is set to return to action on Wednesday, as they look to push their win streak to 10 games with a victory over Limestone University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Be sure to follow the Royals men's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to follow all of the Royals sports in action.