Fifth year senior Drew Blair was named as a finalist to Small College Basketball's inaugural Trevor Hudgins Award today.
The award is named in honor of Northwest Missouri State's Trevor Hudgins, who during his historic career with the Bearcats led the team to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. During his career, Hudgins started in every game and never lost in the NCAA Tournament, leading the Bearcats to a remarkable 17-0 record in the national tournament. Hudgins was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022, and holds the NWMSU scoring and assists records while finishing his career as the number one highest scorer in MIAA history.
Considerations for the Trevor Hudgins Award are overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. The overall intent of the Trevor Hudgins Award is two-fold: 1) To keep the collegiate legacy of Trevor Hudgins alive and continue to tell his story to the next generation, and 2) To provide a national platform to honor outstanding players – and ultimately one player – within small college basketball on an annual basis.
Blair became the leading scorer in UMD men's basketball program history towards the end of 2023, ending his final season with the Bulldogs with 2,772 career points. Blair shot 258-531 (48.6%) from the field, 89-236 (37.7%) from three point range, 149-188 (79.3%) from the free throw line this season, and led the team in points with 754, rebounds with 167, and steals with 42. Blair scored 20+ points in 23 different games this season, including a season high 38 points in a semifinal round win over Winona State University during the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament.
Earlier this season, Blair earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) All Conference and All Tournament team honors and was named to the D2CCA All Central region team prior to the Bulldogs' run through the NCAA Regional tournament. Recently, Blair has been named to the NABC All District and All American teams, was named to the D2CCA All American second team, and participated in the NABC Division II All Star Game.
Small College Basketball is set to name this year's Trevor Hudgins Award winner on Monday, Apr. 8.
