Fifteen Wabash College players were named to the 2024 All-North Coast Athletic Conference Football Team, announced on Monday. Three Little Giants earned First Team honors, while eight garnered Second Team honors, and four received Third Team recognition from the conference coaches.
Senior wide receiver Connor Thompson, junior offensive lineman Quinn Sholar, and junior defensive back Mike Holsclaw were named to the All-NCAC First Team. Sophomore quarterback Brand Campbell, junior running back Xavier Tyler, senior center Kanon Kelley, senior offensive lineman Cameron Ford, junior linebackers Samuel Ringer and Gavin Ruppert, sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Cree, and senior defensive back Avery Epstein were Second Team selections. Junior wide receiver TJ Alexander, senior offensive lineman Enrique Ruiz, junior defensive lineman Jerry McBee, and junior kicker Brody Rucker received Third Team selections.
Thompson started all 11 games for Wabash as a senior and led the Little Giant receivers with 59 catches for 658 yards and nine touchdowns. Thompson ranked second among conference players in receptions, tied for fourth in touchdown catches, and was sixth in receiving yards. He caught a season-best eight passes in a win at Wooster and posted a season-high 130 receiving yards in the Little Giants’ win over Denison. Thompson caught two touchdown passes in victories over Oberlin and Hiram. Thompson’s nine TD catches tied for the 11th-most in a single season by a Wabash player.
Sholar earned all-conference honors for the third time in his career after also earning First Team honors in 2023 and 2022. Sholar, Kelley — a 2023 Third Team and 2024 Second Team selection — Ford - a 2023 and 2024 Second Team honoree — and Ruiz, a 2024 Third Team selection, made up a Wabash offensive line that helped the Little Giants rank second in the conference in rushing offense with an average of 166.8 yards per game. Wabash ranked second in scoring offense by averaging 35.9 points a contest and led the NCAC in red-zone scoring with a success rate of 88.9 percent. Wabash averaged 366.7 yards of offense per game and scored 49 total touchdowns for the season, tied for 15th for the most in a single season by a Little Giants team.
Holsclaw earned All-NCAC honors for the first time in his career after recording 33 tackles and a team-best four interceptions. His four picks tied for second among conference players and tied for 51st in Division III for the season. Holsclaw recorded two interceptions against Wisconsin-Platteville and made a season-high seven tackles before matching that effort with seven tackles against Denison. He also picked off a pass against Denison and added his fourth interception in the 130th Monon Bell Classic versus DePauw.
Campbell earned all-conference honors in his first season as the Little Giants’ starting quarterback. Campbell started nine games and appeared in ten contests total after replacing injured season starter Blake White in the second game of the year. Campbell threw for 1,939 yards and 19 touchdowns. He completed 147 of 213 pass attempts with three interceptions for a 70.4 completion percentage, ranking second among NCAC quarterbacks and 12th in the nation. His 181.0 passing efficiency rating was second in the NCAC and 14th among Division III quarterbacks this season. Campbell threw for a single-game-best 345 yards in a win over Denison and tossed three touchdown passes in wins against Wooster, Oberlin, and Hiram. He completed a season-high 21 passes at DePauw and finished with a 75-or-higher completion percentage in five games.
Tyler joined Campbell as a first-time all-conference honoree. The junior running back led the conference with a 99.2 rushing-yards-per-game average and tied for second in rushing touchdowns with nine. He became the 17th player in Wabash history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, finishing with 1,091 for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. He ran for a season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts at Wittenberg and topped 100 rushing yards in four separate games. He scored two rushing touchdowns in three games and ran for a season-best 55 yards in a carry against Wooster, where he finished with 185 rushing yards on 15 attempts for the game. Tyler also caught 21 passes for 170 yards in his junior campaign.
Ringer earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career after recording 43 tackles to tie for second among Wabash players this season. He made six tackles for losses totaling 22 yards and recorded one sack for six yards. Ringer racked up a forced fumble, two quarterback hurries, and four pass breakups as an outside linebacker. His 26 solo tackles ranked fourth among Wabash players this season. Ringer made a season-best nine tackles in the Monon Bell Classic against DePauw.
Ruppert earned all-conference honors for the third time in his career after being selected to the 2023 Second Team and 2022 Third Team. He led Wabash with 96 total tackles and ranked seventh in the conference and 90th in the nation with an average of 8.3 tackles per game. His 13-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 55 yards were sixth-best in the conference and ranked 67th among Division III players. He also recorded four quarterback hurries and recovered a fumble during the season. Ruppert made a season-high 18 tackles against Ohio Wesleyan, including 12 solos, and had five tackles for losses of 29 yards with two sacks against the Battling Bishops. Ruppert finished his junior season ranked eighth on the Wabash all-time tackles list with 264 career stops.
Cree earned his first all-conference honors. The sophomore made 43 tackles to tie for second among Wabash players. He recorded 12 tackles for loss totaling 55 yards, and tied with McBee for the team lead with six sacks for 36 yards. Cree also blocked two kicks, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and had four quarterback hurries during the season. He made a season-best seven tackles against Wisconsin-Platteville and finished with 3-1/2 tackles for losses of 20 yards, including 2-1/2 sacks for 17 yards versus Kenyon. He blocked a kick against St. Norbert in the season’s opening win for Wabash, followed by another against Kenyon.
Epstein closed out his career with his first all-conference accolades. The senior tied for fifth on the team with 33 total tackles, including 27 solo efforts. He had one interception against Ohio Wesleyan and returned a blocked field goal 64 yards for a touchdown against Kenyon for the game’s first score. Epstein made a season-high seven tackles in the win against Denison.
Alexander earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career after making 30 catches for 428 yards and four touchdown receptions in 11 games, finishing second in all three categories among Wabash receivers. He caught a season-best six passes in a win at Wittenberg and finished with a season-high 109 receiving yards in three catches at Wooster, including a season-best 49-yard reception.
McBee joined Alexander as a first-time all-conference selection after making 32 total tackles to rank eighth among Wabash defenders. He finished the season with 15 solo and 17 assisted tackles and recorded 11 tackles for losses of 49 yards with six sacks for 37 yards. He also broke up one pass, had four quarterback hurries, and blocked one kick. McBee made a season-high six tackles against Wittenberg, including 2-1/2 sacks for 12 yards and his blocked kick. He made three solo stops against Ohio Wesleyan and versus Hanover in the ForeverLawn Bowl.
Rucker added 2024 Third Team All-NCAC honors after being named to the 2023 Second Team as a kicker. He finished second in the NCAC in field goal percentage and led the conference in field goals made per game after connecting on 9 of 14 tries for 64.29 percent for an average of 0.8 field goals per contest. He booted a season-long 39-yard field goal against Ohio Wesleyan and finished the season 2-of-3 on tries from 30-39 yards. Rucker made 48 of 49 extra points attempts and averaged 59.2 yards on 64 kickoffs with 16 touchbacks. He also handled the punting duties for most of the season, averaging 37.6 yards on 25 punts with a long of 62. Seven of his punts ended inside the 20-yard line, with five traveling more than 50 yards.
Wabash finished second in the final NCAC standings with a 7-1 conference mark. The Little Giants were 8-3 overall and represented the NCAC in the inaugural ForeverLawn Bowl played at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, as part of the Opendorse Bowl Series.
