MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan football team cleaned up on Tuesday morning with the NESCAC awards as the Cardinals claimed Coaching Staff of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year while 10 players earned All-NESCAC honors, including a break-recording seven First Team defensive players.
Head Coach
Dan DiCenzo and his staff of assistants –
Eric Ludwig,
Adam Chicoine,
Dave Benoit,
Quentin Jones,
Pat Leone '19,
Ben Dorfman,
Dario Highsmith '20, and
John Capodice – made history, becoming the first in team history to earn the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year (previously Coach of the Year). WR
Chase Wilson '25 earned NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors, becoming the third Cardinal in team history to earn the award and first since WR Mike Breuler '18 in 2017. LB
Ben Carbeau '25 was recognized as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the third Cardinal to win the award while this marks the third time in the past four seasons that a Wesleyan player has won DPOY in the NESCAC.
The record-breaking class of All-NESCAC First Team selections on defense include Carbeau, DL
Mike Rowan '25, DL
Jason Villano '25, LB
Jake Edwards '24, G'25, CB
Wesley Abraham '25, safety
Nick Donatio G'25, and DB
Dylan Connors '26. Wilson earned the First Team nod on offense while the All-NESCAC Second Team included QB
Niko Candido '25 and OL
Gavin Tatum '25.
Carbeau, Wilson, Edwards, Abraham, Rowan, and Donatio all earned All-NESCAC honors for the second time in their career while Villano, Connors, Candido, and Tatum each picked up their first career All-NESCAC selection.
History was made on the defensive side of the ball as Wesleyan's seven First Team selections on defense is the most by one team in league history. The previous record of six has only happened once – Amherst 2001.
Coaching Staff of the Year
From left: Pat Leone '19, Dario Highsmith '20, Quentin Jones, Adam Chicoine, Dan DiCenzo, Eric Ludwig, Dave Benoit, Ben Dorfman, John Capodice
Coach DiCenzo and his staff completed the best modern season in the history of Wesleyan football, culminating in the team's first-ever outright NESCAC Championship. Wesleyan navigated the always-challenging NESCAC slate, with a vast majority of the wins coming down to the fourth quarter.
Opening the year with a 43-7 drubbing of Middlebury on the road, that win marked the Panthers' biggest home loss in over 40 years. Wesleyan then held Tufts without a touchdown in a 20-9 triumph under the lights at home. After suffering their first defeat of the season to Bates in Week 3, the Cardinals rebounded with six straight wins to end the year. That six-game win streak started with 19 unanswered fourth quarter points to defeat Hamilton on the road 19-7. Edwards returned a fumble 88 yards for a game-winning, walk-off overtime touchdown in a 23-17 win over Colby in Week 5. The Cardinals held off Bowdoin for a 17-14 road win before scoring 31 unanswered to defeat Amherst 31-14 in a game that Wesleyan trailed 14-0 in the first quarter.
With a third straight Little 3 title on the line, the Cardinals drove over 90 yards down the field with less than two minutes to play in regulation, as WR
Luke LaSaracina '25 hauled in a game-deciding touchdown with six seconds left as Wesleyan defeated Williams 25-24 in an epic clash to claim three straight Little Three Championships for the first time since 1946-48. Then in the season finale, Wesleyan's defense held Trinity scoreless in the second half, converting two lengthy fourth downs in pivotal moments in the fourth quarter, to defeat Trinity 27-17 in what was the de-facto NESCAC Championship game in Hartford.
Chase Wilson '25 | Wide Receiver | Offensive Player of the Year | First Team
Earning All-NESCAC First Team honors as a junior last season, Wilson took his game to another level in 2024, earning a second straight First Team nod and a historic OPOY distinction. Wilson is the third Cardinal (Breuler in 2017 and QB Jesse Warren '15 in 2014) to win the award and just the fifth time in NESCAC history that a wide receiver has won the honor.
Despite several injuries to his teammates in the wide receiver room throughout the year and facing constant double and sometimes triple teams by opposing secondaries, Wilson still managed to finish with 43 catches for 834 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games this season. His 19.4 yards per catch is the highest average by a receiver with at least 30 catches in the NESCAC since 2019 while it's the highest average by a Cardinal receiver with 30+ catches in a season since Pat Moffett '04 (23.1 yards/catch) in 2002.
Wilson's 834 yards is a single-season career-high as he went for 90+ yards in six-of-nine weeks. He scored a touchdown in five straight weeks to open the year, recording at least 96 receiving yards in all five of those games. He had touchdown receptions of 87, 75, and 66 yards throughout the campaign and his best game came against Middlebury where he went for four catches for 155 yards and 1 TD in the 36-point road win.
Ben Carbeau '25 | Linebacker | Defensive Player of the Year | First Team
A three-year starter at linebacker for the Cardinals, Carbeau evolved and grew as a player over his four years at Wesleyan, ultimately leading what was the league's best defense in 2024. Carbeau put up monster numbers this season including 66 tackles (32 solo) with 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks from the linebacker position. He led the team in all three categories and joins two-time winner Nick Helbig '23 and Jake Bussani '14, G'15 as the lone three Cardinals in team history to earn the league's highest individual defensive honor.
Carbeau had two games with 10+ tackles in 2024 while he becomes the first linebacker to lead the NESCAC in tackles for loss since Joe Gowetski did so for Bowdoin in 2019. Both his tackles for loss and sacks totals are at least double his previous single-season career-high heading into 2024 while he captained a defense that ranked first in the NESCAC in several statistics including scoring defense, passing defense, fumbles recovered, opponent first downs, opponent third down success rate, and red zone defense.
Mike Rowan '25 | Defensive Line | First Team
A force in defending the run and rushing the passer, Rowan earned his second career All-NESCAC honor, after having made the Second Team as a sophomore in 2022. He led the Cardinals' defensive line in tackles (32), tackles for loss (7.5), and sacks (5.0) while leading the team with two forced fumbles and ranking second in QB hurries (4).
His 20 solo tackles in 2024 are a single-season career-high while he finished the year on a six-game streak with at least one tackle for loss while he also recorded a sack in three straight games to finish off the season. Rowan's best game came against Trinity wherein he recorded five tackles (three solo) with 2.5 TFL and two sacks including one on what was the final Trinity drive to help seal off the win.
Jason Villano '25 | Defensive Line | First Team
In his first season as a full-time starter at defensive end, Villano blossomed into a First Team player in his senior year, recording 27 tackles (13 solo) with 5.5 tackles for loss, a team-leading five QB hurries, and one sack. Villano's strip sack in overtime led to the fumble recovery and subsequent 88-yard touchdown return from Edwards that was the deciding factor in Wesleyan's 23-17 OT win over Colby in Week 5. Villano also shined against Bates, recording six tackles (four solo) with three for loss.
Jake Edwards '24, G'25 | Linebacker | First Team
A rare four-year starter at the position, Edwards is a two-time All-NESCAC honoree, making the First Team for the first time in his graduate year in 2024. Constantly around the ball, Edwards finished with 47 tackles, 1.5 TFL, two fumble recoveries, two QB hurries, and one pass breakup in nine games this season.
Edwards made 10 tackles (all assisted stop) in the Week 8 Little Three title clinching home win over Williams and he had the dramatic overtime fumble recovery touchdown in Week 5 against Colby. He closed out his career with 200 career tackles while having played in 35-of-36 possible games since 2021.
Wesley Abraham '25 | Cornerback | First Team
One of three Cardinals in the secondary to earn All-NESCAC First Team honors, Abraham closes out his career with back-to-back First Team nods. Teams shied away from the 2023 All-American, as Abraham took away opposing team's top receivers, finishing the year with five pass breakups and one interception to go along with 21 tackles and one forced fumble.
His interception came in the Middlebury win while he recorded three pass breakups in Week 2 against Tufts and two breakups in Week 5 against Colby. Abraham closed out his career with 27 consecutive starts at corner.
Dylan Connors '26 | Defensive Back | First Team
The only Wesleyan non-senior to receive an All-NESCAC nod, Connors produced an incredible statistical season, totaling 43 tackles (29 solo) with 8.5 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, two interceptions, one blocked kick, and one sack as a defensive back.
In his second year as a regular contributor on defense, Connors put up some jaw-dropping numbers including nine tackles (seven solo), two for loss, one sack, and two pass breakups in the Week 4 win at Hamilton. He followed that up with eight tackles (seven solo), two for loss, and two pass breakups in Week 5 against Colby. He had interceptions in back-to-back games against Amherst and Williams, with his INT against the Ephs returned 41 yards for a touchdown.
Nick Donatio G'25 | Safety | First Team
A transfer from Colby, Donatio proved to be a key cog in the best secondary in the NESCAC, totaling 57 tackles (29 solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one interception while starting all nine games and handling punt return duties for the Wesleyan special teams unit.
Donatio's 57 tackles ranked second-most on the team while his six pass breakups put him Top 10 in the NESCAC. He opened the year with six tackles and three pass breakups against Middlebury before recorded eight tackles (five solo) with one forced fumble in the Week 2 win over Tufts. Donatio's best games came last in the year when he recorded a season-high 12 tackles (five solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss in the 25-24 win over Williams and closed out his career with nine tackles and one pass breakup in the 27-17 title-clinching win at Trinity.
Niko Candido '25 | Quarterback | Second Team
Candido is the seventh Cardinal quarterback in team history to earn All-NESCAC honors, earning his first career All-Conference nod. In his second year as the team's full-time starter, Candido finished the season with 1980 passing yards on 124 completions, recording 14 TD against just 3 INT in nine starts. The TD:INT ratio was easily the best of his career while Candido added an element on the ground he hadn't employed previously, rushing for 284 yards after entering his senior year with a previous single-season career-best of 99.
He had the second-fewest interceptions in the NESCAC while he threw for the third-most yards and had the third-most passing touchdowns. Candido earned NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for an incredible performance in the title-clinching win at Trinity, finishing that game accounting for all four Wesleyan scores with three passing touchdowns and one on the ground. He completed 11 passes for 190 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT while gaining 51 rushing yards.
Gavin Tatum '25 | Offensive Line | Second Team
The starter at left tackle for the Wesleyan offense throughout the 2024 season, Tatum earns an All-NESCAC selection for the first time in his career. Tatum helped pave the way for Wesleyan's offense which averaged 24.2 points per game (3rd-best in the NESCAC) as well as the fourth-best passing attack and fifth-best rushing unit based on yards per game.
