Payne is a 6-foot-5 junior forward from Garden Grove, Calif. Rocky Mountain opened their 2017-18 season with wins over Salish-Kootenai 118-69 and Yellowstone Christian 123-68.
Payne averaged 25 points, four rebounds, 1.5 steals and one block per game. He was 22 of 29 (76 percent) from the field, 4 of 7 in 3-point field goals (57 percent) and 2 for 3 from the free throw line.
Also nominated and listed in alphabetical order: Cordel Hankerson of Lewis-Clark State, Dylan Pannabecker of Montana Tech, Jared Schultz of the University of Providence and Matt Wyman of Carroll College.