Alabama men’s basketball guard Mark Sears is one of 20 players named to the 2025 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Monday.
Named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor recognizes the top point guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
Sears is one of six players in the SEC named to the list. The others include: Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard, Texas’s Jordan Pope, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler, and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV. Sears was also named the Southeastern Conference Preseason Player of the Year while earning a Preseason All-SEC First Team selection.
Last season, Sears was a Bob Cousy Award Finalist while earning Second Team Associated Press All-America and First Team All-SEC honors. He averaged a team-high 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
In addition, Sears was named the 2024 NCAA Tournament West Region Most Outstanding Player after leading the Crimson Tide to the Final Four where he averaged 24.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He scored 121 total points during the 2024 NCAA tournament, which ranked second among all tournament participants.
Sears set the program record for most points scored in a single season with 797 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from three-point range.
He became the first Division I player in the last 31 seasons to record 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists, and 95 three-pointers in a single season.
Voting for the award will continue throughout the season. Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. The player who receives the most votes will earn an additional vote from the selection committee. As the season progresses, the list will remain fluid, giving players the opportunity to move on and off the list until the final five are selected. The list will narrow down to 10 players in early February, with the final five being announced in March.
The award winner and presentation details will be revealed at this season’s Final Four, which will be held in San Antonio, Texas.
The Cousy Award is now in its 22nd year. Sears would become the first Alabama player to receive the award. Past winners who played for schools now currently in the SEC include: Acie Law IV (2007), DJ Augustin (2008), and Tyler Ulis (2016).
UConn’s Tristan Newton was the last player to take home the Cousy Award in 2023-24. He averaged 15.1 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and 6.2 assists per game for the Huskies, who brought home their second straight national title under head coach Dan Hurley. Newton now plays for the Indiana Pacers. TG
For more information on the award, please visit https://www.hoophallawards.com/cousy.php. Photos courtesy UA Athletics.
