MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Senior linebacker Ben Carbeau '25 of the Wesleyan football team was awarded the Joe Zabilski New England Defensive Player of the Year for Division II and III, as announced by the New England Football Writers Association on Tuesday morning. Carbeau joins an elite group of Cardinals who've won the award as Jake Bussani '16 was the honoree in 2015 and Nick Helbig '23 won the award in 2022.

The 2024 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-New England pick, and two-time All-NESCAC First Team honoree adds this prestigious honor to his career trophy case, as Carbeau completes his career as one of the most-decorated players in team history.

Carbeau produced a tremendous statistical season, leading what was one of the best defenses in the country throughout the 2024 campaign. In nine games this season, Carbeau put up 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 became the first NESCAC linebacker to lead the conference in TFL since 2019. Both is TFL and sack totals are at least double his previous single-season career-high while he captained a Wesleyan defense that ranked first in the NESCAC in scoring defense, passing defense, fumbles recovered, opponent first downs, opponent third down success rate, and red zone defense. Across the country, Wesleyan's defense ranked 19th in total defense (253.9), 24th in scoring defense (14.8), 19th in passing yards allowed (156.8), 1st in fewest first downs allowed (121), and 7th in third down defense (26.7).