Greencastle, Ind. - In voting by the league's coaches, 19 DePauw student-athletes have been selected to the all-North Coast Athletic Conference Football Team with two earning top honors.

Wide receiver Robby Ballentine (Sr., Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) was chosen as the Mike Gregory Award recipient as the offensive player of the year and defensive end Dominic Seibal (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) was selected as recipient of the Hank Critchfield Award for defensive player of the year.

Ballentine leads the conference with 83 catches, 8.3 receptions per game and 15 touchdown receptions and his 1,172 receiving yards are second. He ranks in the top eight in Division III in all four categories. Ballentine's career totals of 53 touchdown catches and 244 pass receptions are NCAC records. Ballentine was a first team selection each of the last two seasons.

Seibal led the NCAC with 9.5 sacks and was second with 14.5 tackles for loss while totaling 36 tackles and is a first-time honoree.He ranks 11th in Division III with 1.06 sacks per game and 21st with 1.21 tackles for loss per contest. His efforts have helped lead DePauw to the top rushing defense on all levels of NCAA football as the Tigers allow opponents just 12.3 rushing yards per game. 

Also earning first team honors on offense were quarterback Scott Ballentine (So., Crown Point, Ind./Andrean), tight end Palmer Samuels (Jr., Muncie, Ind./Delta), center Zach Kerr (Jr., West Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Central Catholic), offensive lineman Bennett Smith (Jr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South and offensive lineman Rylan Watkins (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor).

Scott Ballentine has completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 2,684 yards with a league-leading 30 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. His 171.4 efficiency rating is second in the conference. Samuels caught 29 passes for 363 yards and five touchdowns, while Kerr, Smith and Watkins anchored an offensive line that helped the Tigers score 41.5 points per game. Kerr and Smith were first team selections last year, while Watkins was second team in 2024 and first team in 2023.

First team honorees on defense included outside linebacker Joey Roland (Sr., Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield-Central), inside linebacker Owen Rossell (Sr., Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), defensive lineman Luke Nolan (Sr., Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) and defensive back Holt Heldebrand (Sr., Tulsa, Okla,/Holland Hall).

Roland earned first team accolades last year and is tied for second on the team with 38 tackles including 4.5 tackles for losses totaling 25 yards and 3.0 sacks for 22 yards. He has one interception and two pass breakups. Rossell is a first-time selection after leading the squad with 54 tackles including 4.5 tackles for losses of 13 yards and 1.5 sacks for nine yards and has a team-high five pass breakups. Nolan was a second team choice in 2024 and first team in 2023 and has 25 tackles including 8.5 tackles for losses of 71 yards and 7.5 sacks totaling 67 yards. Heldebrand earned recognition for the first time after recording 29 tackles and leading the squad with three interceptions in addition to four pass breakups.

Buddy Gomez (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) earned first team honors as a punter after being placed on the third team last year. While also handling kickoff duties, Gomez averages 43.4 yards per punt with 12 of his 32 boots landing inside the opponents' 20-yard line and nine covering 50 or more yards. Gomez's average would rank in the top five in Division III but he hasn't met the minimum of 3.6 punts per game.

Four Tigers garnered second team honors including running back Caden Whitehead (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor), wide receiver Lleyton Lukowski (Sr., Carmel, Ind./Carmel), offensive lineman Aiden Bunton (So., Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) and defensive lineman Chris Green (So., Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis).

Whitehead ranks second in the NCAC in rushing with 58.7 yards per game while totaling a conference-best 11 rushing touchdowns. He was a first team choice last year and second team in 2023. Lukowski, a second team selection last year, caught 39 passes for 499 yards and eight touchdowns. Bunton moved into the starting lineup in week three and was the starting right tackle for fve of the final six weeks of the regular season. He helped lead the Tigers to  427.4 yards per game which ranks second in the conference. Green has 20 tackles this season with 8.0 for losses totaling 31 yards and 4.5 sacks for 24 yards. Bunton and Green are earning all-NCAC honors for the first time.

Offensive lineman Nick Ruiz (So., Batavia, Ill./Batavia) is a third team choice as were placekicker Matthew Berry (Jr., Jacksonville, Fla./Bolles School) and return specialist Carson Johnson (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral).

Ruiz, a first-time choice to the all-NCAC squad, started nine games at left tackle for the Tigers and helped the offense average 4.3 yards per rushing attempt which was second in the NCAC. Berry was a second team selection in 2024 and has made 42-of-46 extra-point attempts and 4-of-6 field goals with a long of 51 yards. Johnson averaged 7.0 yards on six punt returns and had one kickoff return for 14 yards.

The Tigers, ranked 10th in the coaches' poll and 15th by D3football.com, finished the regular season with a 9-1 record and 7-1 in the NCAC which was good for second place. DePauw earned one of 13 at-large berths into the NCAA Division III Championship and travels to Wis.-Whitewater on Saturday, Nov. 29, for a Noon CST second-round game.