Stevenson Named First Team All Region

After dazzling fans in the Greenhouse and every other gym in the Jayhawk Conference this season, Seward County freshman Niem Stevenson was rewarded by the NJCAA on Tuesday as he was named 1st Team All-Region VI.

Stevenson was the second highest vote getter on the 1st Team behind only the Jayhawk’s leading scorer Kadeem Allen. Stevenson led the Saints to their fourth straight Jayhawk West title this season, pacing Seward County’s high powered offense at 19.3 points per game on the year. He scored 20 or more points in 17 different games as a freshman this season including 13 of Seward’s final 16 games of the year. Stevenson scored 30 or more four times, with his season high coming late in the year against rival Garden City when he scored 36 points in a nine point Seward win. Not your typical high scoring guard, Stevenson shot 51% for the Saints this season making him the first Seward player since Martin Lewis to shoot better than 50% from the field in a season in which he averaged 19 or more points per game.

Stevenson is going to need to clear some space in his dorm room at Seward as he has now collected Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year, 1st Team All-Jayhawk West, and Region VI All-Tournament Team honors in the past week to go along with three Jayhawk West Player of the Week awards and an NJCAA National Player of the Week award throughout the course of the year.

As one of the top selections for the All-Region VI Team, Stevenson will now be considered a candidate to be an NJCAA All-American which will be released after the National Tournament. The good news for Stevenson, each of the last three Saints to finish first or second in All-Region voting were all named All-American’s.

Stevenson was the only Seward player to be selected for any of the three All-Region teams despite the team winning the Jayhawk West during the regular season. It marks the first time in seven seasons that the Saints have had only one player named All-Region.

Roy Allen