MIAC RELEASE

ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—A multitude of Bethel Royals earned 2025 MIAC Football Awards as senior defensive back Devin Williams was named Defensive Player of the Year, freshman running back Taye Manns earned Rookie of the Year, and second-year head coach Mike McElroy landed Coach of the Year. 

This marked the second year in a row a Royal earned MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, following Matt Jung in 2024. Manns is the second Bethel player to secure MIAC Rookie of the Year after Devin Williams landed the inaugural award in 2022. McElroy's Coach of the Year accolade is the seventh in school history, as former head coach Steve Johnson earned the first six for Bethel.

Joining Manns on the 2025 MIAC Football All-Conference Offense Team is junior quarterback Cooper Drews, junior running back David Geebli, junior wide receiver Albert Rundell, senior offensive lineman Luke Ainsley, junior offensive lineman Jaegar Ash, senior offensive lineman Juan Orozco Sanchez, and senior offensive lineman Isaiah Ward.

Joining Devin Williams on the 2025 MIAC Football All-Conference Defense Team is junior defensive lineman Abdallah Abed, junior defensive lineman Phil Conant, defensive lineman Marcus Whiting, junior linebacker Jake Borman, senior linebacker Thomas Rush, sophomore defensive back Will Barthel, junior defensive back Jackson Braun, and sophomore defensive back Nick Colyer,

Along with return specialist Devin Williams, junior punter Eli Nowacki was named to the 2025 MIAC Football All-Conference Special Teams.

In addition, junior wide receiver Tyler Terry, and junior offensive lineman Tristen Cantu earned a spot on the 2025 MIAC Football Honorable Mention Offense. Freshman defensive lineman Caleb Taylor was named to the 2025 MIAC Football Honorable Mention Defense.

2025 MIAC Football Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Jack Curtis (Carleton)
Defensive Player of the Year: Devin Williams (Bethel)
Mike Stam Lineman of the Year: Zach Frank (Saint John's)
Rookie of the Year: Taye Manns (Bethel)
Coach of the Year: Mike McElroy (Bethel)

Taye Manns
Manns led the MIAC with 13 rushing touchdowns, and 6.22 yards per carry over 131 attempts. The Duluth, Minnesota native led the Royals' ground game with 815 rushing yards over 10 games played.

Manns eclipsed the 100 yard threshold in four games. This included a season-high 163 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries in a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27. Manns followed that with a 127 yard and one touchdown performance in a 17-10 win over Saint John's on October 4. 

He concluded the 2025 regular season with a whopping 15.8 yards per carry that consisted of 126 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries in a 62-0 victory over St. Scholastica on November 15. 

Cooper Drews
The Princeton, Minnesota native's 35 touchdown passes ranks second in NCAA Division III. Drews is among the top 25 quarterbacks in the country with a 170.3 passing efficiency, 2,615 passing yards, a 68.4% (221-of-323) completion percentage, 22.10 completions per game, 246 points responsible for, and 286.3 yards of total offense per game. 

Drews' six touchdown passes in a 49-7 victory over Carleton on November 8 tied his own school record achieved on two other occasions. He finished the game with a career-best 38 completions on 48 attempts for 405 yards.

Drews was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week (Week 10).

David Geebli
Geebli finished second on the team with 553 yards along with five touchdowns on 101 carries. Three of those touchdowns occurred in a 62-12 victory at Hamline on September 27, where he finished with 74 yards on a season-high 17 carries. The Coon Rapids, Minnesota native rushed for a season-high 107 yards on 13 carries in a 41-7 road victory at Gustavus on September 20.

Albert Rundell
Through 10 games in 2025, Rundell has 99 receptions for 1354 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Rundell leads all of college football with 1,354 receiving yards. The Watertown, Minnesota native paces NCAA Division III with 9.90 receptions per game and also has a MIAC-leading 137.00 all-purpose yards per game, 19 receiving and total touchdowns, and 11.4 points scored per game.

His MIAC-record 21 receptions and five touchdown grabs highlighted the Royals in their 49-7 victory over Carleton on November 8. The 21 catches surpassed the previous school record of 16 accomplished two other times. It was also the most from a MIAC player since October 13, 2018. The five touchdown grabs beat out the school record of four accomplished multiple times, and tied the MIAC record that occurred on two other occasions. Rundell finished that game with 214 yards receiving. 

He finished with a school-record 246 yards receiving on 11 catches that included two touchdowns in a 64-10 victory over St. Olaf.

Rundell was named November 10 MIAC Offensive Player of the Week, and D3football.com Team of the Week (Week 10).

Luke Ainsley
Ainsley has started all 10 games on an offensive line that's paved a way for a unit that ranks among the top 20 in the country rushing offense (228.6), scoring offense (50.9), total offense (508.7), third down offense (.548), and first down offense (293). 

Jaegar Ash
Ash has started all 10 games on an offensive line that's paved a way for a unit that ranks among the top 20 in the country rushing offense (228.6), scoring offense (50.9), total offense (508.7), third down offense (.548), and first down offense (293).

Juan Orozco Sanchez
Orozco Sanchez started nine games on an offensive line that's paved a way for a unit that ranks among the top 20 in the country rushing offense (228.6), scoring offense (50.9), total offense (508.7), third down offense (.548), and first down offense (293).

Isaiah Ward
Ward started nine games on an offensive line that's paved a way for a unit that ranks among the top 20 in the country rushing offense (228.6), scoring offense (50.9), total offense (508.7), third down offense (.548), and first down offense (293).

Devin Williams
Williams finished second on the team with 52 tackles that included 32 solo stops, three interceptions, and three pass breakups in 2025. The Fridley, Minnesota native recorded a season-best 11 tackles that included eight stops as well as one interception in a 17-10 victory over Saint John's on October 4. 

On special teams, Williams ranks fourth in NCAA Division III with 16.4 yards per punt return. He finished the 2025 regular season with 328 yards over 20 returns. Williams returned a punt for a 75-yard touchdown in a 62-0 victory over St. Scholastica on November 15.

Williams was named October 6 MIAC Defensive Player of the Week, and November 17 Special Teams Player of the Week. He was named D3football.com Team of the Week (Week Five).

Abdallah Abed
Abed finished the 2025 regular season with 28 tackles that include 5.5 TFL's over 10 games played. The Mounds View, Minnesota native had three solo tackles and returned an interception for 42 yards in a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27. Abed had a season-best five tackles and two TFL's in a 53-0 shutout of Macalester on October 25.

Phil Conant
Conant ranks 10th in NCAA Division III with 1.85 TFL's per game, and second in the MIAC with 0.80 sacks per game over 10 games played. The Saint Francis, Minnesota native has accumulated 41 tackles that consisted of 18.5 TFL's, eight sacks, and 27 solo tackles as well as four quarterback hurries.

Conant had a season-best 11 tackles that included seven TFL's and four sacks in a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27.

Marcus Whiting
Whiting finished the 2025 season with 33 total tackles that included 10 TFL's and 4.5 sacks as well as three quarterback hurries. The Hugo, Minnesota native registered a season-best five tackles on three occasions; which included one blocked kick in a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27, and two quarterback hurries in a 55-9 win over Concordia (Minn.) on November 1.

Jake Borman
Borman accumulated a team-leading 62 tackles that included 26 solo, 7.5 TFL's, and 3.5 sacks. The Apple Valley, Minnesota native had two double-digit tackle performance on the season, which included 11 in a 17-10 victory over Saint John's on October 4. 

Borman notched two interceptions, two quarterback hurries, and one blocked field goal on the season. The interceptions occurred in a 56-7 win over Augsburg on October 11, and a 55-9 decision over Concordia (Minn.) on November 1.

Thomas Rush
Rush finished second on the team with 51 tackles that included 3.5 TFL's and one sack. The Princeton, Minnesota native accumulated a season-best 10 tackles in a 56-7 victory at Augsburg on October 11. 

Rush recorded one interception in a 55-9 decision over Concordia (Minn.) on November 1. Another notable game was a 53-0 shutout of Macalester on October 25, where Rush finished with seven tackles and one forced fumble.

Will Barthel
Barthel accumulated 24 tackles that included 18 solo as well as two pass breakups in 2025. The St. Michael, Minnesota native returned one interception for 63 yards in a 64-10 victory over St. Olaf on October 18. He contributed a season-best six tackles in a 41-7 victory over Gustavus on September 20.

Jackson Braun
Braun finished fourth on the team with 43 tackles that included 28 solo stops, 3.5 TFL's, and one sack. The Blaine, Minnesota native registered seven tackles on two occasions; a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27, and a 17-10 decision over Saint John's on October 4. 

Nick Colyer
Colyer finished the season with a team-leading four interceptions. Two of them occurred in a 62-12 victory over Hamline on September 27. The Wilsonville, Oregon native played the game of his life in a 53-0 shutout of Macalester on October 25 with a season-best five tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble.

Eli Nowacki
Over 89 kickoffs, Eli Nowacki accumulated 5089 yards for a 57.2 average, 20 of them were touchbacks. The Blaine, Minnesota native also served as the Royals' primary punter, where he averaged 40.42 yards per punt, and 1051 total yards over 26 kicks. 

Nowacki nailed a 48-yard field goal as the first half expired in a 55-9 road victory over Concordia (Minn.) on November 1. It was the longest field goal from a MIAC kicker since October 26, 2019. Nowacki's performance in that game landed him November 3 MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week.