SUWANEE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), Caden Bosanko of Texas Lutheran University and Jess Hoel of McMurry University were selected Offensive Co-Players-of-the-Year while Brady Dygert of Austin College and Kane Strohman of McMurry University also split the vote and each earned a share of Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors. Complete Release

In that same balloting, Barrett Hudson of Austin College was voted Newcomer-of-the-Year, Cameron Welch of Texas Lutheran was selected Special Teams Player-of-the-Year and Bulldogs’ head coach, Neal LaHue, earned Coach-of-the-Year accolades.

After a seven-year hiatus, football made a triumphant return as a conference-sponsored sport as five teams hit the gridiron under the SCAC banner for the first time since 2016.

Following the completion of a double-round robin conference schedule, McMurry University and Texas Lutheran University both emerged with identical 7-1 league marks to share the 2024 SCAC Football crown. Fittingly, the two field generals that led each of their teams to a piece of the SCAC title share in Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors.

Caden Bosanko, a dual-threat junior quarterback from San Antonio, Texas, finished second in the conference in passing yards (1,848) and fourth in rushing yards (646) and led the SCAC in scoring with 14 rushing touchdowns. A three-time Offensive Player-of-the-Week during the regular season, including in Weeks 7 and 10 when he had four rushing TDs in each contest that Saturday, the junior completed 144 of 245 passes (58.8 percent) for 10 touchdowns and had a 131.5 passing efficiency rating. Bosanko continues TLU’s run of student-athletes who have won or shared SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors as a Bulldog has received recognition each of the last five years the award has been bestowed (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2024).

Jess Hoel, a sophomore quarterback from Abernathy, Texas, built on a successful first year when he led McMurry and the American Southwest Conference in nearly every passing category by doing the same this season in the SCAC, leading the conference in passing yards (2,441), touchdown passes (19), completion percentage (65.3 percent), total offensive yards (2,845) and efficiency rating (149.1). He accounted for 29 total touchdowns this season, rushing for 10 scores with 404 total yards. A three-time SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week who opened the season with three consecutive games with three TD passes with no interceptions, Hoel and his 2,845 yards of total offense ranks as the 15th best single-season total in conference history.  

Bosanko and Hoel each received four votes in the balloting for Offensive Player-of-the-Year with Lyon College fifth year running back Jaylin Babers picking up the remaining two first-place votes.

Coaches and SIDs were also split on the league’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year honor with Brady Dygert of Austin College and Kane Strohman of McMurry both receiving a share of the award.

Dygert, a senior linebacker from Magnolia, Texas, led the SCAC and was third in the nation in total tackles (122), which also ranked as the fifth most in a single-season in conference history. His 66 solo tackles also led the SCAC, and he added 4.0 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and two pass breakups to his defensive resume. Dygert was the league’s Defensive Player-of-the-Week in Austin College’s regular season finale when he recorded 18 tackles, forced a fumble, and had a pass breakup in a 31-21 homecoming victory over Lyon College. He is the ‘Roos’ first Defensive POTY honoree in the program’s 12 years playing under the SCAC umbrella.

Strohman, a senior defensive lineman from Katy, Texas, and a three-year starter for the War Hawks, led his team in total tackles (53) and headed the SCAC in both sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (17.0) – totals that both represent single-season McMurry program bests. Part of a unit that led the league in almost all defensive categories (yards allowed, points allowed, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and sacks), Strohman was a two-time SCAC Defensive POTW honoree, including in Week 6 when he posted a school-record 6.5 tackles for loss, which tied for the third-most in a single game in SCAC history, in the War Hawks' 28-10 conference victory at Centenary. The senior also played 44 snaps on the offensive side of the ball at tight end as well as a member of multiple special teams’ units.

Dygert and Strohman each received four votes in the balloting for Defensive Player-of-the-Year while Texas Lutheran sophomore strong safety Troy Tomaselli picked up the remaining two first-place votes.

Barrett Hudson, a first-year running back from Katy, Texas, led Austin College and the SCAC in rushing during the regular season, picking up 959 yards on 165 attempts and averaging a league-high 5.8 yards per carry with six touchdowns. If Hudson maintains his rushing lead following the postseason, he will become just the fourth freshman in the 56-year history of SCAC football to lead the conference in rushing and the first since Millsaps College’s Tyson Roy accomplished the feat in 2004. Hudson finished with 1,154 all-purpose yards (second in the conference), adding 68 receiving yards and 127 kick return yards to his rushing totals. He was the league’s Offensive Player-of-the-Week in Week 6 when he gained 240 yards on just 11 carries – an average of nearly 22 yards-per-carry – with three touchdowns of at least 71 yards. The 240 rushing yards are believed to be the 13th-most in a single game in SCAC history.

Hudson, who is just the second Austin College player to earn the league’s Newcomer-of-the-Year honor (Madison Ross in 2012), garnered five votes from the coaches and SIDs for the award, followed by Centenary junior wide receiver Kobe Chambers and first-year defensive back Noah Hatcher of McMurry, who received two votes each. First-year wide receiver Lavonta Henry of Texas Lutheran picked up the remaining first-place vote.

Cameron Welch, a senior punter from New Braunfels, led the SCAC while averaging 44.5 yards per punt during the regular season, which was second-best in the nation. His current average would break the previous Texas Lutheran program record of 43.0 yards held by Harold Anderson since 1962 and is just behind the SCAC’s all-time single season mark of 44.9 yards per kick set by Bob Burwell of Rose-Hulman in 1978. He is also the program’s career punting leader, averaging 40.5 yards per kick to pass former record-holder Dillon Koop (2010-13). Welch, who was a two-time SCAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week during the 2024 season, placed 13 of his 34 punts inside the 20-yard line with just one touchback all season. With opponents mustering just 55 return yards, Texas Lutheran currently leads the nation in net punting at 42.26 yards per kick.

Welch is the second Bulldog to earn SCAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Year honors, following former TLU placekicker Tyler Brandenburg, who received the accolade following the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Welch picked up five votes in the balloting for this year’s award, followed by junior placekicker Caleb Balderas of Austin College who received three votes. Junior receiver/returner Kobe Chambers of Centenary was the recipient of the remaining two first-place votes.

Texas Lutheran head coach Neal LaHue, in his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, led TLU to a 9-1 overall mark (7-1 in conference) and a regular season SCAC co-championship – the program’s fourth time since joining the conference in 2013. Texas Lutheran will make its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 2014, when the Bulldogs travel to McMinnville, Ore., to take on No. 14 Linfield on Saturday. With the first-round bye, the Bulldogs have already surpassed the 2014 team for the deepest postseason run in program history. TLU finished the season ranked number 26 in the NCAA NPI rankings, which dictated the qualifiers for the postseason tournament, as well as receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll.

The LaHue led Bulldogs featured a balanced attack this season that is averaging a SCAC-leading 35.9 points per game and 404.8 yards per game in total offense while allowing just 15.9 points per game.

LaHue is the second Texas Lutheran coach to earn SCAC Football Coach-of-the-Year honors, following former Bulldog head man Danny Padron who earned the honor three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015.

To view the complete 2024 All-SCAC Football Team release, click here.