Statistically speaking, Stevie Sansone may be the most prolific 3-point shooter in college basketball.
The Multnomah University junior attempted 423 shots from beyond the arc this season and made 157 of them. That is a 37.1% shooting percentage on the kind of volume normally reserved for someone playing a basketball video game with the difficulty turned down.
More importantly, Sansone made more 3-pointers than the listed national leader at every level of NCAA, NAIA and NCCAA men’s basketball.
| Association | Player | School | 3-pointers |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I | Akeem Richmond | East Carolina | 155 |
| NCAA Division II | P.J. Foster | Limestone | 155 |
| NCAA Division III | Jack Taylor | Grinnell | 129 |
| NAIA Division I | Xavier Roberson | Our Lady of the Lake | 152 |
| NAIA Division II | Zach Miller | Bethel | 126 |
| NCCAA Division II | Stevie Sansone | Multnomah | 157 |
Calling anyone the “best shooter” requires more than counting makes. Competition level, efficiency, shot difficulty and the number of games played all belong in that discussion. But if the question is simply who made the most 3-pointers, Sansone has the strongest numerical answer.
Who Is Stevie Sansone?
The reason Sansone is not a familiar name to most college basketball fans is fairly simple: He plays at Multnomah University, a small school in Portland, Oregon, better known for preparing pastors and missionaries than producing nationally recognized athletes.
Multnomah has just over 350 undergraduate students and competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Division II, as well as the Association of Christian College Athletics. There are no packed major-conference arenas, lucrative television contracts or armies of analysts breaking down Sansone’s release point on weekday mornings.
There are still 157 made 3-pointers.
At 6 feet and 175 pounds, Sansone does not immediately look like an athletic anomaly. Put him on a basketball court, however, and his smooth form and quick release begin making the argument for him.
Multnomah’s up-tempo system creates plenty of opportunities from deep, but opportunity alone does not make the ball go through the rim. Sansone converted more than 37% of his 423 attempts despite defenses knowing exactly where much of the Lions’ offense was headed.
The numbers are conspicuous. The person responsible for them is not.
When asked what it felt like to be called the best shooter in the country, Sansone resisted the title.
“I really don’t consider myself the best shooter in the country. I think I’m a good shooter, but it’s hard to be the best at anything when you are coming from our level and knowing that there are five levels above us where the athletes are usually bigger, faster and stronger.
“I believe that my passion for basketball and for being in the gym is truly from God. My hope is that whoever sees me shooting can see that this really is a God-given gift, and I want to use this gift as a way to point people to Jesus.”
That answer supplies the perspective missing from the spreadsheet. Sansone understands the level at which he plays and does not confuse a statistical distinction with proof that he could outshoot every player in every gym.
He also does not treat his ability as something he manufactured entirely on his own.
College sports rarely suffer from a shortage of self-promotion. Finding someone who can make a legitimate statistical claim to national distinction and still blush when asked about it is considerably less common.
Whether Sansone is truly the best shooter in college basketball is a debate for another day. For now, the numbers say nobody made more.
Good shooting, Stevie. Good shooting.