MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Fresh off a second consecutive NESCAC Championship, the Wesleyan football team cleaned up in the NESCAC end-of-year awards release. Wesleyan saw 13 named All-NESCAC, tied for the second-most in a single-season in team history, while the Cardinals swept the major individual player awards including Offensive Player, Defensive Player, and Rookie of the Year.
Among the major individual awards, QB
Matt Fitzsimons '27 earned NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year while DB
Dylan Connors '26 was named the NESCAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and freshman WR
Donte Kelly '29 was chosen as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. This marks the first time in team history, and just the second time in NESCAC history (Middlebury in 2019), that one program has been recognized with all three major individual awards.
Wesleyan's 13 All-NESCAC honorees is tied for the second-highest single-season total in team history, matching the 2016 and 2019 teams while being one short of the team record 14 All-NESCAC selections in 2014.
The All-NESCAC First Team Offense features Fitzsimons, Kelly, wide receiver
Blake Newcomb '27, and offensive center
Jack Bohnsack '27. Making the All-NESCAC First Team Defense is Connors, DT
Dean Sokaris '26, LB
Austin Baker '27, and CB
Vincent Lytle '28. The All-NESCAC Second Team Offense includes offensive tackle
Gerard Garofolo '27 while the Second Team Defense features DT
Will Orso '26, LB
AJ Morris '26, and CB
Aiden Nelson '27 and Baker also made the Second Team Special Teams unit as a long snapper. Among the 13 All-NESCAC honorees for Wesleyan, 12 are first-time All-NESCAC recipients.
Matt Fitzsimons '27 | Quarterback | NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year | First Team
In his first season as the Cardinals' starting signal caller, Fitzsimons earned the league's highest individual honor on the offensive side of the ball. The league leader in passing yards (2462), completion percentage (62.5), and touchdowns (20) threw for 300+ three times in nine games including a school record 458 passing yards in the Cardinals' 34-28 overtime Little Three title clinching win at Williams on November 1.
Named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this year, while also being the only player in New England to earn the NEFW's Gold Helmet award twice this season, Fitzsimons had some monster games including the record-breaking performance against Williams as well as a 365-yard, 5-TD showing against Hamilton where he completed 20-of-23 passes and didn't throw an interception. He averaged 14.2 yards per completion this season and
Fitzsimons becomes just the third Cardinal in team history to earn NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year, joining wide receivers
Chase Wilson '25 (2024) and Mike Breuler '18 (2017), while he's the first-ever Wesleyan quarterback to earn the distinction. Fitzsimons joins Mark Piccirillo '19 and Jesse Warren '15 as the only Cardinal signal callers to earn First Team All-NESCAC honors.
Dylan Connors '26 | Defensive Back | NESCAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year | First Team
The play-making safety closes out his collegiate career as a two-time All-NESCAC First Team selection while becoming the fourth Cardinal in the past five seasons to earn the league's highest individual defensive honor. Connors, who splits the award with Kemit Fisher of Amherst, joins
Ben Carbeau '25 (2024) and two-time DPOY Nick Helbig '23 (2021, 2022) in a string of Player of the Year award winners in the past five seasons. Connors also joins Jake Bussani '14, G'15, the 2014 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, as the only Cardinal defensive backs to win DPOY.
Connors was a key contributor on Wesleyan's defense, which led the NESCAC in fewest yards allowed per game for the second straight year. He totaled 51 tackles (35 solo) with four tackles for loss, two interceptions, and seven pass breakups. Connors' ability really shined as the year went along, including a tremendous all-around game in the win over Amherst that saw Connors total six tackles, one TFL, two pass breakups, and a blocked punt which he scooped up and scored from 22 yards out. He graduates with four career touchdowns (two interception, two blocked punt recoveries), five interceptions, 26 pass breakups, and 145 tackles.
Donte Kelly '29 | Wide Receiver | NESCAC Rookie of the Year | First Team
The local speedster out of Meriden, Connecticut, Kelly flashed right from the first game and made history, becoming the first wide receiver in NESCAC history to earn Rookie of the Year honors. Kelly is the fifth Cardinal in team history to earn NESCAC Rookie of the Year, while he's the first to do so since Helbig in 2019 and the first Cardinal on offense to win the award since LaDarius Drew '15 in 2011.
Producing seven catches for 118 yards and 1 TD in his debut, a season-opening home win over Middlebury, Kelly finishing the year with 52 catches for 746 yards and 6 TD. The 52 catches rank second-most in the NESCAC while his 746 yards are third and his six touchdowns are tied for third. He had at least five catches in 6-of-9 games played this year and produced three 100-yard games including a season-best 140 yards on 12 catches at Colby in Week 5.
Blake Newcomb '27 | Wide Receiver | First Team
In his first year as a full-time starter for the Cardinals, Newcomb had a breakout junior year that saw him lead the NESCAC in receiving yards (793) while putting up the third-most catches (50) in the conference to go along with six touchdowns which tied for third-most in the league. Among players with 30+ receptions on the year, Newcomb ranked second in the NESCAC with 15.9 yards per catch, as the big play threat had six catches for 30+ yards this year.
Newcomb really hit his stride over the last seven games, producing four 100-yard games while posting at least 70 receiving yards in all seven contests. He scored in five straight games from Week 4-8 and had a monster showing in the OT win at Williams, totaling 10 catches for 161 yards and 1 TD in the thrilling come-from-behind win.
A first-year starter on the offensive line, Bohnsack started all nine games at center for the Cardinals and thrived, helping lead Wesleyan to a 29.7 average points per game on offense and the second-most total yards per game (372.4) in the league. The Cardinal offense led the NESCAC in first downs (20.1 per game) and red zone offense (scoring on 31-of-37 possessions) and was second-best in third down conversions (44.4) for the year.
Dean Sokaris '26 | Defensive Tackle | First Team
The anchor of the Wesleyan defensive line, Sokaris led the Cardinals' linemen in tackles (26) while producing 4.5 TFL, two sacks, six QB hurries, and he blocked a Williams field goal in overtime which helped lead to a 34-28 Wesleyan win. Sokaris started all nine games at defensive tackle and anchored a unit that allowed the fewest yards per game in the NESCAC (246.6) while the rush defense is the 11
th-best unit in the nation, allowing only 62.9 rushing yards per game.
A two-year starter at the position, Sokaris recorded 17 solo tackles this year to set a single-season career-high, as was his 4.5 TFL total. In the final game of the season at home against Trinity, with the NESCAC Championship on the line, Sokaris went off for five tackles, three TFL, and the first two sacks of his career.
Austin Baker '27 | First Team Linebacker | Second Team Long Snapper
In his first year as a starter at linebacker, Baker produced a team-leading 61 tackles (34 solo) including 7.5 TFL, two sacks, four pass breakups, and four QB hurries. Playing for a Wesleyan defense that graduated all three starters at the linebacker position from last season, Baker quickly made a name for himself and went on to have a productive all-around season as a three-down contributor at the position.
Baker started the year with nine tackles in a home win over Middlebury, produced five tackles and two TFL in a road win over Bates, recorded seven tackles (six solo) and two pass breakups on the road against Colby, and had his best game with a season-high 12 tackles (six solo) with two TFL and one sack in the OT win over Williams on the road.
Baker also continued in his role as the Cardinals' long snapper on punt units and made it on the All-NESCAC Second Team for the first time in his career.
Vincent Lytle '28 | Cornerback | First Team
A new starter at the position, Lytle and teammate
Aiden Nelson '27 teamed up into a formidable duo for the Cardinals at cornerback in 2025. Having to deal with the loss of two-time All-American corner
Wesley Abraham '25, Lytle posted 30 tackles (23 solo) with five pass breakups and one interception in his sophomore year.
Lytle recorded his first career interception, to go along with two pass breakups, in the road win at Bates, while he posted a season-high seven tackles (five solo) in the win over Middlebury to start the year, and he had five tackles (all solo) with one pass breakup in the season finale win over Trinity.
Gerard Garofolo '27 | Offensive Tackle | Second Team
After a sophomore year spent as a utility lineman, used at guard and tackle throughout the year, Garofolo became the full-time starter at left tackle for the Cardinals in 2025. In his first full year as a starter, Garofolo helped lead one of the best units in the NESCAC to nearly 30 points per game as the Cardinals scored 20+ points in 8-of-9 games this season. Garofolo was the blind side protector for Fitzsimons all year, as the junior quarterback put up a NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year season. The Cardinals also led the NESCAC and ranked second in all of Div. III in time of possession, averaging more than 35 minutes of time with the ball on offense throughout the season.
Will Orso '26 | Defensive Tackle | Second Team
Orso combined with Sokaris for what was one of the best rush defenses in the country in 2025. With 14 tackles this year (seven solo), Orso earned All-NESCAC honors for the first time after helping lead a Wesleyan defense that allowed just 566 rushing yards (62.9 per game) in nine games this year.
AJ Morris '26 | Linebacker | Second Team
Another first-year starter who thrived when thrust into a big role, Morris finished the year with 31 tackles (14 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, three QB hurries, and one pass breakup. Morris had interceptions in consecutive games to start the year, the first of which coming against Middlebury where he sprinted 60 yards for a pick six. He recorded a season-high eight tackles (five solo) with 1.5 TFL against Bowdoin and had his first career sack against Williams.
Aiden Nelson '27 | Cornerback | Second Team
Continuing a long line of stellar play at the cornerback position for the Cardinals, Nelson combined with Lytle to give Wesleyan a pair of All-Conference performers at corner. Nelson finished his first year as a starter with 29 tackles (20 solo), 1.5 TFL, and six pass breakups. The junior corner had consecutive games with two pass breakups early in the year and recorded a season-high five tackles in three different games.
