Greencastle, Ind. - In voting by the conference's coaches, 23 DePauw student-athletes have earned all-North Coast Athletic Conference football honors with individuals also garnering offensive and defensive player of the year and coaching staff of the year distinction.

DePauw quarterback Nathan McCahill (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) was voted the Mike Gregory Award recipient as the conference's offensive player of the year. McCahill finished the regular season with a school and NCAC record 43 touchdown passes while completing 70.9 percent (183-258) of his passes for 2,854 yards. His 216.5 pass efficiency rating in the regular season led Division III. He also broke a DePauw record and tied an NCAC mark with seven touchdown passes at Kenyon. McCahill was a second team choice in 2023.

Linebacker Jonathan Bruder (Sr., Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) was voted the Hank Critchfield Award recipient as the league's defensive player of the year. Through the regular season Bruder led the Tigers with 62 tackles including 1.5 sacks for six yards and 6.0 tackles for losses totaling 16 yards. He had two interceptions including one against Denison that he returned 70 yards for a touchdown. Bruder earned third team honors in 2022 and first team last year.

The DePauw coaching staff of head coach Brett Dietz, associate head coach Scott Srnka and assistants Mason Espinosa, Austin McCrory, Ryan McElwain and Christopher Rutledge, Jr., were chosen as the staff of the year marking the fourth straight year the Tigers have taken home the top coaching honor in the conference. In addition to the program's second straight 10-win season, the Tigers won a fourth straight NCAC title and making a fourth consecutive NCAA postseason appearance after going 8-0 in conference games.

Joining McCahill on the first team offense are running back Caden Whitehead (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor), wide receiver Robby Ballentine (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean), tight end Gabe Quigley (Sr., Carmel, Ind./Carmel), center Zach Kerr (So. West Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Central Catholic), tackles Tommy Martin (Sr., Geneva, Ill/Geneva) and Aidan McCormick (Sr., Danville, Ind./Danville) and guard Bennett Smith (So., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South).

Whitehead, who was a third team specialist last year, led the DePauw rushing attack with 855 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns and topped the 100-yard plateau on four occasions including a career-high 199 in the Monon Bell game win. Ballentine repeated his first team honor from last year and led DePauw in the regular season with 59 receptions for 845 yards and a school-record 17 touchdown catches. That tied an NCAC record which he broke with two scores on Saturday's NCAA second-round win over Maryville. Quigley, a second team selection in 2023, followed with 42 catches for 730 yards and 13 touchdowns. Martin,McCormick and Smith anchored an offensive line that allowed just seven sacks which ranked 12th in Division III. McCormick was a first team honoree in 2022, while Martin was second team last year and Bennett is a first-time selection.

In addition to Bruder, DePauw's first team defense selections included linebackers Jake Comer (Sr., Danville, Ind./Danville), Joey Roland (Jr., Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield-Central) and Luke Marsh (Sr., Whitestown, Ind./Western Boone) as well as nose tackle Ethan Lowry (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian) and defensive backs Matthew Coons (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) and Nolan Tully (Sr., Woodstock, Ga./Blessed Trinity).

Comer totaled 36 tackles in seven regular season games with 4.5 tackles for losses of 21 yards and 1.0 sacks for nine yards. A first team selection in 2022 and 2023, he returned his lone interception of the season 54 yards for a touchdown against Oberlin. Roland, a first-time honoree, was second on the Tigers with 8.5 regular season sacks for 43 yards and tied for second with 10 tackles for losses of 50 yards. Marsh was second with 59 tackles including 4.5 for losses of 12 yards and 1.0 sacks for five yards. He's a four-time all-NCAC choice after garnering first team in 2021 and 2022 and second team last year. 

Lowry, last year's defensive player of the year, finished with 22 regular season tackles including 7.0 for losses of 20 yards and 3.0 sacks for 16 yards. He was honorable mention in 2021, second team in 2022 and first team in 2023. Coons, a third team selection in 2022 and first team last year, tied for fourth on the squad with 33 tackles including 0.5 sacks for four yards. He had a pair of interceptions and shared the team lead with nine pass breakups. Tully totaled 24 tackles including 3.5 for losses of 12 yards and had one interception. He previously earned first team recognition in 2022 and 2023.

Six players earned second team honors including wide receiver Lleyton Lukowski (Jr., Carmel, Ind./Carmel) offensive guard Rylan Watkins (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor), defensive tackles David Guhl (Sr., McCordsville, Ind./Cathedral) and Luke Nolan (Jr., Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), defensive back Christian Troupe (Sr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) and kicker Matthew Berry (So., Jacksonville, Fla./Bolles School).

Lukowski, a first-time all-NCAC selection, totaled 23 receptions for 338 yards and five scores in the regular season while Watkins, a first team choice last year, played a key role in helping the Tigers to just seven sacks allowed. Guhl, a first-team choice in 2022 and second team last year, totaled 26 tackles with 10.0 tackles for losses for 54 yards including 6.5 sacks for 41 yards. Nolan was a first-team selection in 2023 and finished with 33 tackles and led with 15.0 tackles for losses of 71 yards and a team-high 9.0 sacks for 52 yards. Troupe had 11 tackles including one for loss and led the squad with three interceptions and sharing the lead with nine pass breakups. Berry connected on 63-of-64 extra-point attempts and 7-of-9 field goals The 63 PATs broke the DePauw record. Troupe and Berry are both first time all-conference honorees.

Third-team distinction went to punter Ben Gomez (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and return specialist Carson Johnson (So., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) as both earn all-NCAC accolades for the first time. Gomez averaged 39.2 yards per punt with 10 of his 19 landing inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Johnson averaged 30.0 yards on 14 kickoff returns and 8.7 yards on 16 punt returns. He finished the regular season ranked 10th in Division III in kickoff return average.

DePauw is 11-0 on the season and hosts Johns Hopkins in the third round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Noon.