Twelve Gents Earn All-SCAC Honors
Twelve Gents were named to the 2025 All-SCAC Team, the league office announced on Tuesday.
SUWANEE, Ga. – Twelve Gents were named to the 2025 All-SCAC Team, the league office announced on Tuesday.
See the Gents' 12 All-SCAC selections at the bottom of the release.
Coming off an incredible comeback victory in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship game, McMurry University was rewarded with four of the league's five major awards in exclusive voting by the head coaches and sports information directors of the conference. Complete Release
War Hawk standouts Dylan Plake and Bryce Neves were recognized as the league's Offensive and Defensive Players-of-the-Year, respectively, Jax Rodriguez was selected Special Teams Player-of-the-Year, and McMurry head coach Jordan Neal earned Coach-of-the-Year honors. In the same balloting, Reece Deitrick of Texas Lutheran University was voted First-Year Player-of-the-Year.
Following the completion of the regular season, all six conference teams embarked upon historic War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., for the inaugural SCAC Championship Weekend. A tripleheader of action determined both fifth and third place in the conference this season and culminated with the title game, which was won by McMurry after scoring 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points to pull off a miraculous 27-19 come-from-behind victory over Texas Lutheran.
Dylan Plake, a first-year quarterback from Harker Heights, Texas, who transferred to McMurry from East Texas A&M, made an immediate impact this season for the War Hawks, after taking over as starter in Week 4. Plake led the SCAC in completions (177), passing yards (2,250), passing yards per game (250.0), completion percentage (63.2) and total offense (2,207) and was second in touchdown passes (18). He was a two-time SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week during the regular season, including in Week 8 when he accounted for five total touchdowns, completing 24 of 32 passes for 386 yards in the War Hawks' 52-6 victory at Centenary. He earned the honor again two weeks later when he led McMurry to a come-from-behind 34-28 victory over Hendrix behind a three-touchdown, 343-yard passing performance where the first year completed 72.7 percent of his passes without an interception. The second consecutive McMurry quarterback to earn SCAC Offensive POTY honors, Plake stepped in for last year's co-winner, Jess Hoel, who was injured in Week 3 this season.
Plake received seven votes in the balloting for Offensive Player-of-the-Year, followed by senior running back Auvic White of Hendrix College, who picked up four votes. Junior quarterback Jaylon Talton of Austin College received the remaining first place vote.
Bryce Neves, a sophomore linebacker from Abilene, Texas, finished tied for second in the conference with 70 tackles (7.0 per game), including 9.5 tackles for loss, which was good for fourth in the league. He had 6.5 sacks (tied for third in the SCAC), eight pass breakups (tied for second in the SCAC), three quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and league-leading totals in fumble recoveries (four) and defensive touchdowns (two). One of those touchdowns came midway through the fourth quarter of last Saturday's SCAC championship game, when Neves pounced on a loose ball in the end zone that tied the game and helped lead to McMurry's 27-19 come-from-behind victory over Texas Lutheran. That performance earned him Defensive POTW honors for the second time in 2025 as he also received the accolade following Week 1. Neves was an integral part of a defensive unit that led the league in points allowed per game, total defense, sacks and fumble recoveries while finishing second in both rushing yards and passing yards allowed per contest. His selection marks the second consecutive year a McMurry has won at least a share of the Defensive POTY award, following Kane Strohman who was Co-Defensive POTY a year ago.
Neves received seven votes from the coaches and sports information directors in the balloting for Defensive Player-of-the-Year while senior defensive back Ryan Maxwell of Hendrix picked up three votes. Senior linebacker Pablo Cantu of Austin College was named on two ballots.
Jax Rodriguez, a sophomore placekicker and punter from Lago Vista, Texas, broke the McMurry single-season school record with 11 made field goals this season, which led the SCAC and ties for the 11th most in a single season in league history. He hit 11 of 15 field goal attempts (73.3 percent) with a long of 44 yards (which he did twice), was 34 of 36 on extra point attempts, and finished second in the conference with 67 points (tops among kickers). The sophomore also handled punting duties for the War Hawks, averaging 37.3 yards per punt with a long of 60 yards. Rodriguez, who was a two-time SCAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week selection during the regular season, attempted three on-side kicks this season and McMurry recovered two of those.
Rodriguez, who is the first War Hawk to earn SCAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Year honors, picked up seven votes in the balloting for this year's award, followed by senior placekicker Caleb Balderas of Austin College who received four votes. Senior receiver/returner Caleb Camarillo of Texas Lutheran was the recipient of the remaining first-place vote.
Reece Deitrick, a freshman quarterback from New Braunfels, Texas, started seven games – and played in all 10 – in leading Texas Lutheran to an undefeated conference mark during the regular season. After taking over as the Bulldogs' starter in Week 3, Deitrick finished the season completing 120 of 215 passes for 1,905 yards (third in the SCAC) and 18 touchdowns (tied for second in the SCAC) against just five interceptions. His 153.2 efficiency rating was tops in the league and his 8.9 yards per attempt was second among those who played at least 75 percent of their team's games. He also rushed 66 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He had his best game of the season in a crucial Week 7 come-from-behind 50-48 victory over Hendrix when he hit on 19 of 33 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns – both season-highs – which helped propel TLU to the SCAC championship game.
Deitrick, who is the third TLU player to earn First-Year Player-of-the-Year honor following Tyler Figol in 2013 and Jekovan Holmes in 2015, was the consensus choice of coaches and sports information directors for FY POTY, picking up nine votes in the balloting. First-year receiver Brooks McGee of Hendrix was tabbed on the remaining three ballots.
McMurry head coach Jordan Neal, in his seventh season at the helm, led his team to a 6-4 overall mark (4-1 in conference) and the SCAC championship game where the War Hawks pulled off an amazing 27-19 come-from-behind victory over Texas Lutheran to earn the league crown. After producing just five wins in his first four seasons in Abilene, Neal has turned the program around and is 19-11 since 2023, which includes a pair of SCAC titles (the War Hawks were co-champions in 2024) the last two seasons.
This season, McMurry led the SCAC in total defense, allowing a league-low 326.2 yards per game which included league-high totals in sacks (34), fumble recoveries (14) and defensive touchdowns (four). Offensively, the War Hawks were tops in passing yards (322.5 per game) and third in both total yards (398.3) and points (33.7) per game.
Neal's Coach-of-the-Year honor is the first of his career and the first for a McMurry head coach in any fall sport since joining the SCAC prior to the 2024-25 academic year.
Senior RB Obadiah Butler (Crowley, La.)
Freshman WR Theo Dunn (Gonzales, La.)
Senior DL Rhema Getter (Shreveport, La.)
Junior OL Alexander Hamilton (St. Rose, La.)
Sophomore WR Christopher Jackson (Shreveport, La.)
Junior DL D'Qavion Lemons (Shreveport, La.)
Sophomore DB Dwayne Mills Jr. (Slidell, La.)
Freshman DB TJ Ranson (New Orleans, La.)
Junior OL Jaylon Simmons (Lecompte, La.)
Junior LB Devon Strickland (Shreveport, La.)
Junior DB Bryan Washington (Wylie, Texas)
Sophomore LB Collin Watkins (West Monroe, La.)
*Butler was named First-Team All-SCAC and the other 11 Gents earned Honorable-Mention honors.
To view the complete 2025 All-SCAC Football Team release, click here.
Junior LB Devon Strickland (Shreveport, La.)
