Football

Thirteen KCAC Athletes Earn AFCA NAIA Football All-America Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thirteen players from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference earned All-America honors, as the 2023 AFCA?NAIA?Coaches' All-America Teams were announced Wednesday by the American Football Coaches Association.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.

The AFCA's NAIA?All-America Selection Committee is made up of two head coaches from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
 

Five players from the conference earned First Team All-America honors. Those five are:
  • Keegan Martin, Friends University — OL
  • Earon Garcia, Southwestern College — OL
  • Bradley Myers, Evangel University — LB
  • AJ Hemphill, Ottawa University — LB
  • Brooks Gardner, Tabor College — LS
Martin earned his fourth AFCA All-America honor, making him just the third player in NAIA history to accomplish the feat. Martin earned his first three All-America honors while at Bethel (Kan.) in the spring and fall of 2021 and 2022. He joins OUAZ (Ariz.) teammates Dustin Rivera (OL-2018-19-S21-F21) and Austin Bohn (P-2018-19-S21-22). Martin was named to the AFCA NAIA First Team on all four occasions. 

Garcia was named to the First Team for the second consecutive year.
 

Three players from the KCAC earned Second Team All-America honors. They are: 
  • Dillon Hester, Evangel University — WR
  • Nehemiah Figueroa, McPherson College — DB
  • Trey Dixon, Sterling College — AP
This marks the second time Hester has made an AFCA NAIA All-American team, as he was on the Honorable Mention squad a year ago.
 

Five players from the conference were on the All-America Third Team. They are:
  • Wynton Ruth, Ottawa University — RB
  • CJ Anoa'i, Evangel University — OL
  • Ryan Junkermeier, Bethel College — OL
  • Zach Myers, Evangel University — DL
  • Vincent McTigue, University of Saint Mary — P
 


2023 AFCA NAIA COACHES' ALL AMERICA TEAM - FIRST TEAM

Offense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Jalyn Gramstad Northwestern (Iowa) QB Jr. Lester, Iowa
Dederrian Williams Indiana Wesleyan RB Sr. Lake Placid, Fla.
Darius Neal Georgetown (Ky.) RB Jr. Lexington, Ky.
Justin Pringle Saint Xavier (Ill.) WR Gr. Romeoville, Ill.
J.D. Dixon Bethel (Tenn.) WR Jr. Waverly, Tenn.
Austin Jablonski Concordia (Neb.)  WR Jr. Lincoln, Neb.
Keegan Martin # Friends (Kan.) OL Sr. Yale, Okla.
Ja'Kobe Hinton Benedictine (Kan.) OL So. Katy, Tex.
Garrett Rehberg College of Idaho OL R-Sr. Boise, Idaho
Parker Beck  Dordt (Iowa) OL Sr. Spirit Lake, Iowa
Earon Garcia * Southwestern (Kan.) OL Sr. Wichita, Kan.

Defense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Tristin Waugh Grand View (Iowa) DL Sr. Fairfield, Iowa
Nicholas Engler  St. Thomas (Fla.) DL Sr. Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Krew Mathern * Dickinson State (N.D.) DL Sr. Dickinson, N.D.
Noah Turnbull Southern Oregon DL Sr. Bend, Ore.
Bradley Myers Evangel (Mo.) LB R-Jr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Canon Karn Baker (Kan.) LB Jr. Holton, Kan.
AJ Hemphill Ottawa (Kan.)  LB Jr. Strasburg, Colo.
Lonell Boyd Jr.  Morningside (Iowa) DB R-Jr. St. Louis, Mo.
Nate Frey Marian (Ind.) DB R-Sr. Carmel, Ind.
Kaysan Barnett Rocky Mountain (Mont.) DB Jr. Phoenix, Ariz.
Wendol Philord Keiser (Fla.) DB Sr. Miramar, Fla.

Specialists    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Andrew Almos Montana Tech P R-So. Great Falls, Mont.
Landon Reeves OUAZ (Ariz.) PK Sr. Idalou, Texas
Seeger DeGayner * Concordia (Mich.) AP Sr. Grand Blanc, Mich.
Brooks Gardner Tabor (Kan.) LS Sr. Hillsboro, Kan.

2023 AFCA NAIA COACHES' ALL AMERICA TEAM - SECOND TEAM

Offense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Joaquin Collazo III Bethel (Tenn.) QB Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Rontavious Farmer St. Thomas (Fla.) RB Jr. Palm Bay, Fla. 
Konner McQuillan Northwestern (Iowa) RB Sr. Leavenworth, Kan.
Dillon Hester  Evangel (Mo.) WR R-Jr. Strafford, Mo.
Arlandes Mitchell MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) WR So. Independence, Mo.
Rex Ryken Mount Marty (S.D.) TE Jr. Yankton, S.D.
Lucas Doyle Indiana Wesleyan OL Gr. Greenwood, Ind.
Scarlee Jean Keiser (Fla.) OL Sr. Riviera Beach, Fla.
Colin Cox  Saint Xavier (Ill.) OL Jr. Joliet, Ill.
Hunter Mecham Carroll (Mont.) OL R-Sr. Las Vegas, Nev.
Blake Gossett Georgetown (Ky.) OL Sr. Louisville, Ky. 

Defense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Paul Vandal * Jamestown (N.D.) DL Sr. Jamestown, N.D.
Riley Gerhardt * Valley City State (N.D.) DL Sr. Valley City, N.D.
Heath Baker Benedictine (Kan.) DL Jr. Atchison, Kan.
Emmanuel Olaitan Faulkner (Ala.) DL So. Marietta, Ga.
Chad Holleran Georgetown (Ky.) LB Sr. Frankfort, Ky.
Jaelin Willis  Keiser (Fla.) LB So. Fort Myers, Fla.
Casey Rauch Concordia (Mich.) LB Sr. Alexandria, Ky.
Pop McGhee Louisiana Christian DB Jr. Opelousas, La.
Nehemiah Figueroa McPherson (Kan.) DB R-Jr. Boyertown, Pa.
Cody Moser Northwestern (Iowa) DB Jr. Rock Valley, Iowa
Demetrice Gilbert Bethel (Tenn.) DB Sr. Atlanta, Ga.

Specialists    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Logan Burke OUAZ (Ariz.) P Gr. Katy, Texas
Job Matossian Cumberlands (Ky.) PK So. Maryville, Tenn.
Trey Dixon Sterling (Kan.) AP So. Killeen, Texas
MJ Montgomery  Briar Cliff (Iowa) LS Sr. Norfolk, Neb.


2023 NAIA COACHES' ALL AMERICA TEAM - THIRD TEAM

Offense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Michael Palandri Montana Western QB R-So. Maple Valley, Wash.
Bryan Stiemke Ave Maria (Fla.) RB Jr. Bel Air, Md.
Wynton Ruth Ottawa (Kan.) RB Sr. Little Rock, Ark.
David Hayes  St. Thomas (Fla.) WR Jr. Tampa, Fla.
Jacob Gathright Benedictine (Kan.) WR Jr. Oceanside, Calif.
Michael Storey Northwestern (Iowa)  WR Sr. Spencer, Iowa
Rex Ryken  Mount Marty (S.D.) TE Jr. Yankton, S.D.
Scotty Woodruff Dickinson State (N.D.) OL Jr. Torrington, Wyo.
CJ Anoa'i Evangel (Mo.)  OL Jr. Springfield, Mo.
Ryan Junkermeier Bethel (Kan.) OL Sr. Plainville, Kan.
Marcus Lombard Montana Western OL R-Jr. Laie, Hawaii
Riley Lindberg Morningside (Iowa) OL Sr. Fremont, Neb.

Defense    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Zach Myers  Evangel (Mo.)  DL Jr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Isaac Abeo Indiana Wesleyan  DL Gr. Fishers, Ind.
Jessup Leakey Dordt (Iowa)  DL R-Sr. Independence, Mo.
Devin Adams  Peru State (Neb.) DL Sr. Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Joey Mohap Roosevelt (Ill.) DB Jr. Longview, Texas
Howard Huerta  William Penn (Iowa) DB Jr. Panorama City, Calif.
Kellen Neal Reinhardt (Ga.) DB Sr. Buford, Ga.
Abraham Stoesz Dordt (Iowa) DB Sr. Mountain Lake, Minn.
Isaac Pingel  Morningside (Iowa) LB Jr. Spencer, Iowa
Kemon Reese  St. Francis (Ill.) LB Jr. Bellwood, Ill.
Nate Ewell Grand View (Iowa) LB Jr. Waterloo, Iowa

Specialists    
Name School Pos. Class Hometown
Logan Collier Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) AP Jr. Nashville, Tenn. 
Nathan Hamilton Grand View (Iowa) PK R-Sr.  Bettendorf, Iowa
Vincent McTique  St. Mary (Kan.) P So. Sparks, Nev.

PREVIOUS ALL-AMERICAN KEY
* = 2022 AFCA NAIA All-American
# = 2021 AFCA NAIA All-American

 


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