MINOT, N.D. – During a stellar season for Minot State, kicker Brandon McCary earned a place on the Fred Mitchell Award watch list back in October, and this week he was named one of 41 semifinalists for the Fred Mitchell Award.

The Top 10 finalists for the award will be announced on December 5.

The Fred Mitchell Award honors the top kickers in all levels of college football for their performance on the football field and in the community.

The namesake for the award, Fred Mitchell, was a longtime (1974-2015) award-winning sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of 12 sports books. Mitchell set the NCAA record for career kick-scoring at Wittenberg University in 1968 among "College Division" schools that are now classified as FCS, Division II, and Division III.

McCary, a sophomore from Plano, Texas, who transferred from Southwest Oklahoma State to Minot State, went 10-for-13 this season in field goals with a long of 48 yards, which is tied for 3^rd-longest in Minot State history.

His 10 field goals were second-most in the NSIC, which includes a 5 field-goal performance at Minnesota State Moorhead on Oct. 4. That effort broke the all-time Minot State single-game record, and tied the NSIC single-game record held by Danny Laudet from Concordia, St. Paul (2019), Drew Behrens of Augustana (2010), and Randy Bishoff of MSU Moorhead (1978).

Along with his 10 made field goals this season, McCary also has converted 29-of-29 point-after-touchdown attempts, giving him 59 points on the season, 3rd-most for the Beavers. He also averaged 38.5 yards on kickoffs for 11 kickoffs.

Along with his on-field efforts, McCary was active in the Minot community and his community back home in Texas as he participated in the Beavers' National Marrow Donation Program last spring, volunteered at Minot State's youth football camp over the summer, and in Plano, Texas, he volunteers at Minnie's food pantry.