JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Senior forward KC Ndefo garnered another major preseason accolade after being named to the Preseason Lou Henson Award Watch List, which was unveiled on Thursday.

The award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.

Ndefo, who was three weeks ago named the 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year while also earning a spot on the preseason all-league first team, is looking to pick up right where he left off following a dazzling junior campaign. The 6-foot-7 forward bulldozed his way into the record books after leading the nation in blocked shots while setting the program's single-season and all-time marks in that category and was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.

But in addition to his defensive dominance, Ndefo evolved into one of the league's top all-around players as a whole last year, and that fact has helped solidify his status as one of the country's elite performers. The Elmont, New York, native led the Peacocks and posted career-highs with 342 points, 162 rebounds, 91 blocks and 38 assists while appearing in 25 games. He finished last season with a team-leading 13.7 points per contest, 3.6 blocks per game and 1.4 steals per outing. Throughout the course of his career, Ndefo has also been named a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American and was the 2019-20 MAAC Sixth Player of the Year; he also is a two-time All-MAAC Selection.

Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989. Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.

Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.

Ndefo and the Peacocks open the regular season next Tuesday (Nov. 9) at VCU.