For the 2025-26 college basketball season here at Mid-Major Madness, we’ve decided to make our beloved readers and followers the award selection committee. Each week, we’ll release our mid-major men’s and women’s players of the week nominees and have YOU vote on which player we should give the award to.
Here are our top five men’s candidates and a recap of their performances from across week two of the college basketball season.
Jim Ferry’s UMBC went 2-0 last week, and graduate senior wing and Division-II transfer DJ Armstrong Jr., is a big reason why. On Tuesday, the Retrievers traveled to Morgan State and despite pulling ahead by double-digits at halftime, it took a late bailout from Armstrong to secure an 81-79 win.
Armstrong dusted his defender with a crossover and drained a step-back three just before time expired for his first game-winner of the week. He finished with a season-high 17 points on 4-of-6 from three and added two assists to help UMBC hold off the Bears in the second half.
UMBC hosted Wagner later that week in a back-and-forth bout that saw the Retrievers fall behind early and battle a halftime deficit to force overtime. After missing a three in regulation to give UMBC the win, it was Armstrong once again connecting on a heavily contested last second heave for a 71-70 win in overtime.
Armstrong managed 12 points, went 4-for-8 at the free throw line and contributed six assists to set UMBC at 3-1 on the season.
Amari McCottry – Saint Louis
Sophomore guard Amari McCottry made 31 appearances for Saint Louis as a freshman and averaged just 4.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG. However, in 2025-26, he shown signs of a massive leap and is currently the Billikens leading scorer with 17.3 PPG over two starts in four contests.
This week, the Milwaukee native led a pair of wins starting with a 109-66 beatdown of Lindenwood. McCottry managed 23 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists in the game. He shot an incredible 10-of-13 from the field, was 1-for-2 from 3-point range in a game-high scoring effort off the bench.
Saint Louis welcomed Mountain West newcomers Grand Canyon to Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, and though the Antelopes were an NCAA Tournament team in 2024-25, the Billikens dominated. McCottry and Co. led from wire-to-wire behind his 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, five rebounds and four assists in a 78-64 win.
Off a 2024-25 Big Sky Title and an NCAA Tournament appearance, head coach Travis DeCuire has led Montana to a 4-1 start for the first time since 2018-19. A major reason for the Grizzlies’ hot start has been the continued development of 2024-25 Big Sky Sixth Man of the Year Money Williams.
The junior guard averaged 13.2 PPG for Montana last season, but in 2025-26, he’s already made five starts and is averaging a career-high 20.2 PPG as the Grizzlies leading scorer. He raised the bar this past week by topping his season-high twice with a pair of incredible scoring performances.
Last Tuesday, Montana upset UNLV, 102-92 on the road with Williams pacing the offense at a then season-high 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting and adding eight assists in the win. As the Montana Sports Information Department put it, “When you show up to Vegas with Money, anything can happen” after the Grizzlies first win over UNLV since 1964.
Montana returned home over the weekend for a matchup with Cal Poly in which a fiery offensive second half from both sides gave way to a 90-82 win for DeCuire and the Grizzlies. Williams once again lead all scorers with a new season-high of 31 points as he went 11-of-18 from the field and 4-for-8 from three. He also chipped in six assists and four rebounds as Montana held off Cal Poly who scored 56 points in the second half.
Brycen Blaine – Charleston Southern
Charleston Southern might have only gone 1-2 this past week but redshirt junior guard Brycen Blaine looks like he could be a potential all-conference selection in the Big South this season. Blaine’s career began at James Madison where he battled injuries before transferring to Gulf State, a JUCO program in Panama City, Fla., and managing 10.4 PPG.
However, in 2025-26, he’s already soaring to new career-highs and is currently Charleston Southern’s leading scorer with an average of 24.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 4.0 APG. Last Monday, he led the Buccaneers to their first Division-I win of the season with a road victory over The Citadel.
Blaine finished with a career-high 42 points which is the highest output in Division-I men’s basketball this season and is Charleston Southern’s first 40+ point performance since 2007. He rounded out the night with 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, which is the first time a Buccaneer has ever gone for 42+ points, 11+ rebounds, 8+ assists and 2+ steals.
Though Charleston Southern followed it up with a loss at Alabama A&M, Blaine still had 22 points, three rebounds and two assists. A day later, he finished with another 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals as the Buccaneers fell to Lindenwood, 83-77.
Delrecco Gillespie – Kent State
Kent State currently sits 5-1 after an undefeated 3-0 week led by a trio of double-double performances from senior forward Delrecco Gillespie. The Benton Harbor, Mich. native is averaging a double-double on the early season with 21.7 PPG and 13.2 RPG in his fourth and final season of eligibility with this Golden Flashes program.
Gillespie opened the week with 12 points and 12 rebounds in a win over one of the nation’s most consistent mid-major programs in UNC Wilmington, 86-77. However, he followed that up with 30 points, adding 12 rebounds to complete the double-double and two assists as Kent State beat out Cleveland State 102-95 on a neutral court.
The very next day, Gillespie led Kent State on a comeback win in overtime against Wright State on a neutral court, to secure an undefeated 2-0 record in the 2025 Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division. He managed 26 points and came one shy of matching his career-high with 17 rebounds as the Golden Flashes snuck out with a 76-72 victory late into the extra period.
