PELLA — Central College men's basketball fifth-year center Joshua Van Gorp (Pella, Pella Christian HS) is among the elite list of 50 small college basketball players who made the next round of the 2025 Bevo Francis Award watch list.

Presented by Small College Basketball, the Bevo Francis Award is given to the player who completes the finest overall season from NCAA Division II and III schools as well as all levels of NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA competition.

A selection committee created the initial watch list, featuring 100 players, from a pool of over 1,100 schools nationwide. The list has now been trimmed to 50 players. The committee took individual statistics, previous awards, milestones and team success into consideration when selecting the list.

A two-time All-American, Van Gorp is averaging 24.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He set the school single-game scoring record with 55 points against Coe College on February 1. He's recorded 14 double-doubles in 20 games this season.

Bevo Francis played for Rio Grande College (Ohio) in the early 1950's and is famous for his 113-point outburst against Hillsdale College (Ohio) in 1954 which stood as the NCAA single-game scoring record until 2012.
           
The list will be further narrowed down to 25 players on March 15. Finalists are to be announced on April 5 with the winner released on April 7.