Mid-Major Madness Men’s Player of the Week Voting: Dec. 15-21

Heading into the holiday break, we need your help to decide our men’s player of the week for Dec. 15-21 by voting in the poll below.

Here are our top five men’s candidates and a recap of their outstanding performances from across week seven of the college basketball season.

Jlynn Counter – Charleston

Charleston has had some uncharacteristic struggles early this season with a 7-6 record, including losses to Drake, Yale, South Florida, and more. However, Counter was incredible this past week, leading the Cougars to a 2-0 stretch and the program’s third straight win heading into CAA conference play.

Last Wednesday, Counter contributed 22 points, while shooting 6-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three and adding seven rebounds and six assists to beat out The Citadel, 82-78. On Sunday, he managed his first career double-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals as Charleston held off a second-half push from Northern Kentucky, 85-74.

Corey Hadnot II – Purdue Fort Wayne

Following a 2-1 start in the Horizon League, Purdue Fort Wayne took a brief pause from conference play to visit Notre Dame on Sunday. Though it was the Fighting Irish favored by double-digits at home, it was the Mastodons emerging with the program’s fourth-ever high-major upset and its first since 2023.

Leading the way in this historic win was Hadnot, who managed 29 points and shot 10-for-16 from the field, in addition to six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists over Notre Dame.

Anias Futrell – Lindenwood

Lindenwood has turned Hyland Arena into a fortress with the Lions undefeated at 5-0 on home court during the non-conference, and Futrell is playing a pretty significant role. He led a pair of wins at home this past week with a career-high performance and is even the OVC’s new leader for a game-high in scoring this season.

Last Thursday, he dropped a game-high and career-best 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, managing eight rebounds and five assists in a 92-76 win over Western Illinois. It’s the highest single-game scoring output by a member of the OVC this season and the 20th most nationally while going 8-for-13 from three tied Lindenwood’s program record.

Futrell capped off the weekend by chipping in 16 points, nine rebounds, and three assists to help the Lions handily defeat their non-DI opponent in Harris-Stowe, an NAIA program in Missouri.

Davion Bailey – Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word had the mid-major world on edge last week when it took TCU to the brink of an upset before eventually falling, 69-65, on a late second-half run from the Horned Frogs. Bailey’s performance carried the Cardinals to a six-point halftime lead, on his way to finishing with a game-high 36 points on 9-of-18 from three-point range.

Before the end of the week, Incarnate Word finally secured its deserved win in a 90-66 beatdown of Northern Arizona led by Bailey’s 24 points and three assists.

Chaze Harris – South Alabama

Richie Riley’s South Alabama might have only started 1-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, but the Jaguars’ opening matchup at Louisiana-Monroe last Wednesday was an absolute fireworks show. A battle that went into double overtime with South Alabama emerging 96-92 thanks to Harris’ 38 points on 16-of-22 shooting, adding eight assists and six steals to pull off the comeback.

Though the Jaguars followed that up with a 67-65 loss at Texas State on Saturday, Harris still managed a game-high 22 points on 9-of-20 from the field to go along with six rebounds and an assist.