RSC Men's Basketball Award Winners Unveiled, ALC's Cornett named Coach of the Year

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The River States Conference unveiled the major award winners for the 2024-25 men's basketball season on Thursday, one day after the first round of tournament play. Shawnee State's Tre Beard was named the RSC Player of the Year, while Brescia's Damian Garcia was honored as the RSC Newcomer of the Year. The Coach of the Year was Scott Cornett of Alice Lloyd. All three awards are selected via a vote of RSC coaches.

Tre Beard, a fifth year guard from Chillicothe, Ohio, concludes his illustrious Shawnee State career with RSC Player of the Year honors. The point guard averaged more than 19 points per game on the season for the Bears, who charged up the RSC standings to win the East Division title on the final day of the regular season. Beard was lethal from long range, knocking down 95 three-pointers on the season, a total that ranks second in the nation, and shooting at a 47.7 percent clip.

Damian Garcia arrived at Brescia University from South Arkansas College, and made the most of his first season in the River States Conference. The Houston native currently ranks third in the nation in points per game, scoring 24.3 per contest for the Bearcats. Garcia has yet to be held below ten points this season, and has eclipsed 30 points seven times, including a 30-point effort in Brescia's victory over Indiana University East in the RSC quarterfinals on Wednesday. 

Scott Cornett was selected as the River States Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Alice Lloyd Eagles to a 10-6 conference record and a spot in the RSC Tournament. The Eagles were picked eleventh in the preseason coaches' poll, but came just one game shy of winning the East Division title after winning eight of ten games to close the regular season. Cornett, who is also an alumnus of Alice Lloyd College, is in his sixth year as the head coach of the Eagles.

The RSC Tournament began with four quarterfinal games on Wednesday, with the West Division claiming all four contests. The top seed from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College will host Garcia and the Brescia Bearcats, while Indiana University Kokomo will play host to the Grenadiers of Indiana University Southeast in the semifinal games on Saturday. The championship game, held at the home venue of the best remaining seed, is scheduled for Tuesday evening.