Northwest Missouri State Athletics

Played in 169 games (NCAA Div. II Record)
Started 157 games (NCAA Div. II Record)
Scored 2,205 career points to rank third in program history
Northwest's all-time leading rebounder (962 rebounds)

2022-23
NABC First-Team All-America ... D2CCA Second-Team All-America ... MIAA Player of the Year ... MIAA Defensive Player of the Year ... D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year ... First-Team All-MIAA pick ... MIAA Tournament MVP ... MIAA All-Defensive team pick ...  led the Bearcats in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounds (165), assists (117), steals (72), field goals made (196) and free throws made (122) ... completed his Bearcat career with the third-highest scoring total (2,205), trailing only Justin Pitts (2,459) and Trevor Hudgins (2,829) ... Northwest's all-time leading rebounder with 963 career boards ... tied for the MIAA lead in steals and ranked third in the league in both field goal shooting percentage (54.4%) and free throws made (122) ... saw action in 33 games with 33 starts ... scored 537 points (16.3 ppg) ... grabbed 165 rebounds ... dished out 117 assists ... secured 72 steals ... had 11 20-point scoring games ... put up a season-high 29 points at Fort Hays State (1/28) ... two-time MIAA Player of the Week honoree.

2021-22
Earned his fourth consecutive spot on the MIAA All-Defensive Team ... MIAA Second-Team selection ... named to the MIAA All-Tournament team for the third straight year ... set the all-time MIAA Tournament record for most rebounds (89 in 12 games) ... earned a spot on the NCAA Div. II Central Region All-Tournament team ... saw action in 38 games in leading Northwest to the NCAA Div. II national championship ... made 38 starts ... averaged 11.9 points per game ... averaged 5.7 rebounds per game ... shot 48.7% from the field and 81.9% from the free throw line ... made at least one three-pointer in 19 contests ... recorded 75 steals, which ranks as the fifth-best single-season total in Bearcat history ... had 24 double-figure scoring games ... scored a career-high 25 points vs. Truman State (11/23) ... posted his 13th career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in an Elite Eight win over Bentley (3/22).

2020-21
MIAA Defensive Player of the Year ... second-team all-MIAA ... earned his third straight MIAA all-defensive squad selection ... named to the MIAA all-tournament team for the second consecutive season ... NABC second-team all-district pick ... 14th Bearcat to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds ... became the 26th Bearcat to reach 1,000 career points ... handed out a career-high nine assists at Pittsburg State (1/2) ... posted his eighth career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. No. 5 Washburn (1/7) ... torched Emporia State (1/9) with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range ... scored a season-high 20 points in an 84-74 win at Missouri Southern (2/2) ... went 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point land in scoring 17 points in an 88-85 OT win at Washburn (2/20) ... scored a season-high 21 points in a 95-59 win over Nebraska-Kearney (2/25) ... started all 29 games and averaged 31.3 minutes per contest ... averaged 11.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game ... shot 54.3% from the field and 77.9% from the free throw line ... drained 30 three-pointers and shot 40.5% from beyond the arc.

2019-20
Third-Team All-MIAA ... named to the MIAA All-Defensive squad for the second straight season ... earned a spot on the MIAA All-Tournament team ... started all 32 games ... averaged 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals ... posted five 20-plus point scoring games ... credited with six double-doubles, including the MIAA semifinal win over Missouri Western and MIAA championship victory over Missouri Southern ... grabbed 32 rebounds in three MIAA tourney games ... scored a career-high 24 points in a 92-71 win over MSU Moorhead (11/9) ... named to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament team after scoring 19 points vs. Daemen and 11 points vs. Southern Nazarene ... went 14-of-21 from the field in the wins over Daemen and SNU.

2018-19
Honorable Mention All-MIAA ... named to the MIAA All-Defensive squad ... played in 37 games ... drew 25 starts ... averaged 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.3 blocks as a true freshman ... shot 48.3 percent from the field ... scored in double figures in 28 games ... made his first start vs. Tabor (11/23) ... secured career highs in points (21) and rebounds (8) in an 85-57 win at Nebraska-Kearney (1/24) ... knocked in four 3-pointers in a 105-70 win at Northeastern State and at home in a 79-59 win over Emporia State ... tied his career-high with 21 points in an MIAA tournament semifinal win over Lincoln (3/9) ... tallied 20 points in Northwest's opening-round win in the NCAA Tournament vs. Minnesota State (3/16) ... sat out the NCAA Elite Eight victory over Mercyhurst with a calf injury ... went 5-of-8 from the field and scored 13 points in the national semifinal triumph over St. Anselm (3/28) ... scored 14 points in the national title win over Point Loma (3/30).

PRIOR TO NORTHWEST
Diego Bernard was an all-state performer at Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Mo. He was selected to play in the 2018 GKBCA All-Star Game.

"Diego is an incredible athlete and has the ability to make plays off the dribble and score from multiple levels. What sets him apart from others is his mentality on defense and the edge that he plays with on the court," said Ben McCollum. "He's another great player from a very good high school program (St. Joe Lafayette) that we have a lot of success recruiting from in the past "

Bernard helped lead a senior campaign where Lafayette High School had 22 wins, a MEC Conference Championship, a District Championship and a Sectional Championship game appearance. He was named all-conference four years, all-district three years, a Class 3 all-state selection and is a member of his schools 1,000-point club.