Scots Put 20 on All-Conference Team, Win Five Individual Awards

By Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, ILL. No. 23/25 Monmouth College football team had a record 20 players named Midwest Conference All-Conference on Friday with 11 First Team selections and nine on the Second Team. In addition, the MWC champion Fighting Scots swept the four individual MVP awards and head coach Chad Braun was named MWC Coach of the Year for an unprecedented sixth time. The only other time one team won all four individual MVPs was in 2016 when QB Tanner Matlick, OL Kolton Koch, DL Thomas Lesniewski and LB Matt Barnes won for Monmouth.

Quarterback Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) is Monmouth's first Offensive Skills MVP in nine seasons while lineman James Conner (Kewanee, Illinois) is the Offensive Line MVP, Monmouth's third win in the last four seasons.

On the defensive side of the ball, Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) is the Defensive Line MVP for the second time in five years, marking the sixth time in seven seasons a Fighting Scot has won the DL MVP award. Linebacker Ethan James (Carthage, Illinois) was named Defensive Skills MVP, the second straight year a Monmouth player has won the award.

"I am really happy for all the recognition that the team received," said coach Braun. "Individual recognition is a result of the success our team had this year in conference play. It's pretty incredible to sweep the Player of the Year awards. These guys have worked really hard for four years and it is a great accomplishment for their hard work. These awards are well deserved and earned."

Braun is the first coach in MWC history to win six Coach of the Year awards, breaking a tie with his predecessor Steve Bell. Braun won the award in each of his first five seasons as head coach, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

"Coach Braun has been an excellent leader for the 2025 Monmouth football program on and off the field," said Director of Athletics Roger Haynes. "The success of the team has been directly related to the work he and his staff have accomplished with our players."

The Monmouth offense had six first-team selections with Deem and Conner joined by running back Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois), wide receivers Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) and Jeremiah Williams (Oviedo, Florida) along with lineman Aiden Weaver (Tuscola, Illinois).

Deem is a first-team selection for the second straight year. He led the MWC with 1995 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 54.5% of his passes. Deem only had two interceptions in conference play and also rushed for 331 yards and three scores. He set the Monmouth single-game passing record with 453 yards against IC and tied a career-high with six touchdown passes against Ripon

Despite missing two games with injury, Wrublik led the Midwest Conference with 716 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns and 98 points scored. He set a Monmouth single-game record with five touchdowns against Cornell as he also set a career-high with 163 yards. Wrublik ranks in the top 20 in the nation for rushing touchdowns and his 16 this season are the fourth most in a season in Monmouth history.

Newman also missed a pair of games but led the MWC in receiving touchdowns with 11. A two-time MWC Performer of the Week, Newman set the MC single-game receiving record with 301 yards on 13 catches against IC. Twice this season he tied the single-game record with four touchdowns and he ranks third in the MWC with 39 catches for 676 yards. Newman and Deem also set the record for longest play from scrimmage with a 98 yard touchdown against IC.

Williams finished fifth in the MWC with 34 receptions and 441 yards while adding three touchdowns. He posted a pair of 100+ yard games this season with a career-high 104 against Ripon. He also scored two touchdowns against the Red Hawks and also topped 100 yards with a career-high seven catches in the opener at Wartburg.

Conner played at left tackle for the Scots and is now a three-time first-team selection on the offensive line. He joins coach Derek Brown (2022 & 2023) as OL MVPs in the last four years. Conner anchored an offensive line that allowed just four sacks all season while leading the Scots to a record 50.4 points per game and 448.6 yards per game.

Weaver played at right tackle for the Scots and picked up a first All-Conference selection. Weaver started all 10 games opposite Conner at the tackle position.

DEFENSE ADDS MORE

On the defensive side of the ball, the Scots had three other first-teamers to join Cikauskas and James, all in the defensive backfield. Derek Chandler (Monmouth, Illinois) was selected for the second time along with secondary mates Kevin Soivilien (Miami, Florida) and Damien Brown (East Peoria, Illinois)

Cikauskas leads the MWC with 23.5 TFL and ranks fourth in the nation. He also has six sacks, 46 total tackles, four passes broken up, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Cikauskas, a three-time All-MWC first teamer, holds the MWC and Monmouth record with 77 career TFL. He also holds the MC record for career sacks (37) and forced fumbles (10). The Scots have won the DL MVP for six of the last seven seasons with Tevin Baker winning last year, Korbyn Personett in 2021 and 2022 and Thomas Lesniewski in 2018. Cikauskas joins Personett and Lesniewski as two-time winners.

James scored four defensive touchdowns this season with two fumble returns, an interception return and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. He follows Nick Harris as Defensive Skills MVP and is the first linebacker to win the award since Clark Gaden in 2019. James leads the Scots with 88 tackles, second in the MWC. He leads the nation with four fumble recoveries and ranks fourth in Monmouth history for recoveries in a season. His 10.5 TFL rank 13th in Monmouth history and James also has a sack and an interception.

Chandler is on the first team for a second straight season with 30 tackles, two interceptions, four TFL, four PBU, three forced fumbles and three blocked kicks. He led the MWC in forced fumbles and blocked kicks while ranking third in the nation in blocks. Chandler returned an interception for a touchdown against Grinnell, blocked two punts against Lake Forest and recorded a career-best 12 tackles against Wartburg.

Brown leads the Scots with four interceptions to pick up his first MWC All-Conference selection. The senior added 32 tackles, six PBU and 3.5 TFL on the season. He picked off passes against Wartburg, Chicago, Grinnell and Ripon and also had a sack against Beloit. Brown finished the year tied for the MWC lead in interceptions.

Soivilien is also a first-time All-Conference pick and despite missing two games, he racked up 25 tackles and three PBU. Soivilien had an interception against Cornell and added a TFL against IC. He also had a career-high nine tackles against IC and half a TFL against Lake Forest.

SECOND TEAM SELECTIONS

In addition to the 11 first-team selections, the Scots also put nine players on the MWC Second Team, four on each side of the ball plus a special teamer.

On offense, wide receiver Mason Emin (Sterling, Illinois) is joined by three lineman, Tyrek Tripp (Clearwater, Florida), Mikey Benzija (Oviedo, Florida) and Acen Akers (Lancaster, Missouri). Linebackers Gavin Carpenter (Coal City, Illinois) and Carson Strating (Morrison, Illinois), defensive lineman Jerermiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois), defensive back Armani Carrillo (Orlando, Florida) and special teamer Kaden Fogelsong (Ipava, Illinois) round out the selections.

Emin caught 20 passes for 309 yards on the season while scoring three times. All of his touchdown catches went for at least 20 yards and he posted a 45-yard TD catch against Ripon. Emin, a sophomore, had a career-high 72 yards against IC and he caught at least two passes in seven games.

Tripp, a junior, is a second-team selection for the second time having also earned the honor in 2023. This season he started nine games as the right guard while Akers, a freshman, started all 10 games at left guard. Akers is a first time All-Conference honoree, as is Benzija. A junior, Benzija started all 10 games at center after starting all 11 games for the Scots in 2024. The Scots put all five offensive linemen on the MWC All-Conference teams.

Carpenter, a sophomore, posted 60 tackles this season with 13.5 TFL, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and an interception. He was the MWC Performer of the Week in September after posting a career-high 14 tackles and four TFL against Wartburg. He forced fumbles against Wartburg and IC while recovering them against Grinnell and Knox. Carpenter also had an interception against Lake Forest and he ranks seventh on the MC single-season TFL list.Strating, a sophomore, repeats on the MWC second team. Playing in nine games, Strating has 50 tackles, six TFL, a sack and a fumble return for a touchdown. He scored against IC, had 2.5 TFL against Lake Forest and a career-high 10 tackles against Wartburg.

Hardnett is on the All-Conference team for the first time as a defensive lineman. He posted 8.5 TFL this season with four sacks and 28 total tackles. Hardnett had two sacks against Illinois College and twice posted four tackles. He also scored on a rushing touchdown at Beloit.

Carrillo, a junior, is also an All-Conference selection for the first time. Playing in nine games, he posted 20 tackles with two interceptions and half a TFL. Carrillo returned an interception for a touchdown against Beloit and also had a pick against Wartburg. He had half a TFL against Lake Forest and a career-high six tackles against IC.

Fogelsong, a freshman, made an impact flying around the field on special teams. He finished the season with 19 tackles and also picked up 3.5 TFL and a sack as a defensive end. Fogelsong had two TFL and a career-high five tackles against Knox and he posted a sack against Cornell.

The No. 23/25 Fighting Scots are off this weekend before traveling to Minnesota to take on No. 6/7 Saint John's in the NCAA Playoffs Second Round on Saturday, November 29. Kickoff at Clemens Stadium is set for Noon. The Scots were last in the playoffs in 2019.