Emily Orsini, Managing Editor
The Big Red had a successful fall, with seven student-athletes receiving Player/Position Player of the Year awards in their respective sports and 28 receiving All-NCAC honors.
The field hockey team nearly swept the NCAC Player/Position Player of the Year awards, with Tabitha Chandler ‘27 earning Defensive Player of the Year, Emma Gebhart ‘27 getting Offensive Player of the Year, and Lulu Keil ‘29 winning Newcomer of the Year. The Big Red also contributed 5 athletes to the All-NCAC teams, with Chandler, Gebhart, and Rachel Gilio ‘26 receiving first team, Keil receiving second team, and Helen Breen ‘26 receiving third team.
The team went 12-7 overall and 8-1 in conference, making them tri-regular season champions, sharing the title with DePauw University and Ohio Wesleyan University. The Big Red pulled off an overtime win in the NCAC championship, where they took down OWU to advance to the NCAA tournament. They then lost to Salisbury 5-0 in the first round.
The football team went 6-4 overall and 5-3 in conference, placing them fourth in the NCAC. Quarterback Tyler Green ‘28 at the end of the regular season was ranked first in the nation for completions per game (30.7), second in the nation for passing yards (3,440) and passing yards per game, and fifth in the nation for total yards of offense (3,370). He is first in the Denison record books for single-season passing yards and became the single-season completion leader with 309. He also is second in most passing touchdowns in a season with 29.
Receiver Grayson Kerscher ‘27 also was nationally recognized, with at the end of the regular season he ranked second in the nation for receiving yards (1,239) and receiving yards per game (123.9), 10th in the Nation for receptions and 11th in the Nation for receiving touchdowns (12).
The Big Red’s defense had six athletes nationally ranked as well: Colton Morrow finished seventh in total tackles; Rory Ralston ranked third in tackles for loss and fifth in forced fumbles; Nick Pellicciotta was third in pass breakups and placed in the top ten for interceptions; Jonathan Higle also earned a top-ten mark in pass breakups; Thomas Hansen ranked second in interceptions and placed in the top ten for pass breakups; and Chase Daniels secured a top-five national ranking in fumble recoveries.
In addition to these national accolades, Denison’s football team had 8 athletes earn All-NCAC honors: Kerscher received offensive first team, Green, Canyon Schneider ‘26 (C) and Brady Moffit ‘27 (OL) received offensive second team, and Drew Duffy ‘27 (DL), Ben Perin ‘27 (DL), Colton Morrow ‘27 (DB) and Nick Pellicciotta ‘27 (DB) received defensive third team.
The men’s soccer team also had a historic season where they ranked No. 1 in the NCAA for four consecutive weeks. The Big Red went 15-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in conference, making them second going into the conference tournament. Although they lost in the championship to DePauw university, their consistently high national rankings throughout the regular season earned them a NCAA tournament bid. They lost to Dickinson College in the second round of the playoffs.
Henri Hayes ‘26 earned Defensive Player of the Year for the NCAC and Kameron Kist ‘26 received Midfielder of the Year. These athletes found themselves spots on the All-NCAC first team as well as defender Zarius Eusebe ‘26. Forward Eli Taylor ‘27 and defender Kaden Kist ‘28 were placed on the second team, and goalkeeper Alex Provost ‘29 received third team honors. Hayes and Kist were also named to the first team of the United Coaches Association Region VII Teams for the second consecutive year and Eusebe received second team.
Denison’s women’s soccer team went 9-5-5 overall and 3-1-3 in-conference, where they advanced to the NCAC tournament championship. The Big Red fell to John Carroll.
The team contributed two Position Player of the Year awards as well as four additional athletes to All-NCAC teams. Sarah Sollinger ‘26 was the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the All-NCAC first team and earned a spot on the All-Region first team for the second year in a row. Maryn Zavislak ‘28 was awarded as the NCAC Midfielder of the Year, was put on the All-NCAC first team and earned a spot on the All-Region fourth team.
Isabella Guzman ‘26 and Mattie Mielke ‘27 were each given All-NCAC second team honors, and Mara McGlone ‘27 and Reily Brinley ‘27 were placed on the All-NCAC third team.
The volleyball team made their way into the NCAC tournament with a 4-3 in-conference record and a 16-16 overall record, making them the four seed going into the playoffs. The Big Red defeated the DePauw Tigers in the quarterfinals 3-2, and lost to one-seed Wittenberg in three sets. Maeve Perry ‘27 had 188 kills on the season and Alice Kempf ‘26 had 771 assists (7.34 assists per set) this year, giving them both a spot on the All-NCAC second team.
The men’s cross country team finished sixth at the NCAC championship meet, with first-year Will Jackson placing fifth and receiving a spot on the All-NCAC second team. Noah Cyr ‘26 came just short of earning all-conference, placing 25th. Fiona Martinelli ‘27, Shaylee Murdough ‘29, Jane McNamara ‘28 and Serafina Lavallee ‘29 all placed in the top-50 for the NCAA championship meet.