Fred Mitchell Award celebrates placekickers for excellence – 2024 Preseason Watch List
The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes 40 placekickers for their excellence on the football field throughout the 2023 season and for their off-field contributions throughout the year.
The Fred Mitchell Award will recognize kickers that were nominated by their schools or are at the top of their division for terrific performances through November 23, 2024 (regular season statistics only). The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be announced in December based on performance on the football field and in the community.
“The 2024 college football season is right around the corner and the Fred Mitchell Award selection committee is delighted to announce its preseason Watch List,” Mitchell said. “We value kicking performance as well as community service in evaluating candidates for the award that has been handed out through the Chicago chapter of the National Football Foundation since 2009. The winner of the award does not necessarily have to come from the preseason Watch List, but as you can see, we have a number of excellent kickers to choose from the more than 750 eligible non-FBS colleges in America.
“Each month our 37-person committee, led by co-chairmen Rob Perry and Matt Cotiguala, will recognize performances by kickers leading up to the end of the season when Top 10 finalists will be announced and then the winner in early December. The winner will receive the Fred Mitchell Award trophy in February during a ceremony at the Chicago Bears training facility in Lake Forest, Ill.”
The breakdown of the 40 place-kickers is as follows:
- 11 returning list members
- 2 previous list members transferred to FBS programs
- Collegiate Division – 12 FCS, 10 Division II, 10 Division III, 5 NAIA, 2 NJCAA, and 1 3C2A
- State – The placekickers play at schools located in 24 different states
- Year – 5 graduate students, 16 seniors, 11 juniors, 8 sophomores
In alphabetical order, the Fred Mitchell Award Preseason nominees for the 2024 season are listed below:
CHRISTOPHER BALDAZO – Sophomore
Kilgore Junior College (Texas) – National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)
ANTHONY BEITKO – Senior
California University (Pa.) – NCAA Division II (DII)
GERRIT BLODGETT – Junior
Texas Wesleyan University – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
MACK BOEKHOUT – Junior
Peru State College (Neb.) – NAIA
DANIEL BURGOS – Senior
California Lutheran University – NCAA Division III (DIII)
TRACE BUTCHER – Junior
Emory & Henry College (Va.) – DII
JUSTIN CAPUTO – Junior
Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) – DIII
JOTHEM CASEY – Junior
Bowdoin College (Maine) – DIII
CHRISTIAN CASILLAS – Sophomore
College of DuPage (Ill.) – NJCAA
NICO CAVANILLAS – Sophomore
Keiser University (Fla.) – NAIA
CURTIS COX – Graduate Student
University of Minnesota – Duluth – DII
GRIFFIN CROSA – Graduate Student
North Dakota State University – Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
SETH DEATON – Senior
Ferrum College (Va.) – DIII
SHANE DUNNING – Senior
Drake University (Iowa) – FCS
ETHAN GETTMAN – Graduate Student
Villanova University (Pa.) – FCS
BRANDON GIELOW – Senior
Davenport University (Mich.) – DII
NOAH GUASTELLA – Graduate Student
Northwest Missouri State University – FCS
THIEN HOANG – Sophomore
Lewis and Clark College (Ore.) – DIII
MATTHEW JUMES – Senior
Trinity College (Conn.) – DIII
BRADLEY LARSON – Senior
Angelo State University (Texas) – FCS
ANDREW LASTOVKA – Junior
Youngstown State University (Ohio) – FCS
WILL LEYLAND – Junior
University of South Dakota – FCS
LEO MARINI – Senior
Wayland Baptist University (Texas) – NAIA
LIAM McCARTHY – Graduate Student
Benedictine University (Ill.) – DIII
MATT MIRTON – Sophomore
San Jose City College (Calif.) – California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A)
BRETT MONEY – Junior
Northwestern State University (La.) – FCS
ALEJANDRO MORILLON-GARCIA – Sophomore
Johnson C. Smith University (N.C.) – DII
RYAN PATTISON – Senior
Widener University (Pa.) – DIII
KYLE REHBERG – Senior
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) – DII
AUSTIN SCHMITT – Sophomore
Pittsburgh State University (Pa.) – DII
GABRIEL SHOWALTER – Junior
Nicholls State University (La.) – FCS
SETH SIMPSON – Sophomore
Baker University (Kan.) – NAIA
MICHAEL STACK – Junior
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse – DIII
LOGAN SUNVOLD – Fifth Year Senior
Central College (Iowa) – DIII
KYLE THOMPSON – Senior
Weber State University (Utah) – FCS
LOGAN TURNER – Senior
Southwest Baptist University (Mo.) – DII
KEEGAN VAUGHAN – Senior
Towson University (Md.) – FCS
TOBIAS WEFERING – Senior
Hobart College (N.Y.) – DIII
BRITTON WILLIAMS – Junior
Kennesaw State University (Ga.) – FCS
DREW WYBLE – Senior Michigan Technological University – DII
