Fourteen Pioneers Bring WIAC Postseason Honors

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Fourteen members of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team earned All-WIAC recognition on Thursday afternoon, highlighted by Kwik Trip Offensive Player of the Year winner Brandt Stare and Kwik Trip George Chryst Coach of the Year Ryan Munz.

In total, five Pioneers received First Team All-WIAC honors, while five more were named Second Team. Four players picked up Honorable Mention, while senior John Goomey was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Brandt Stare (Kwik Trip Offensive Player of the Year, First Team Offense, & Honorable Mention All-Purpose Back)

Brandt Stare was named WIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 13 receiving touchdowns to go along with 748 receiving yards on 53 catches. The senior added another score on the ground and even threw the game-winning touchdown against UW-La Crosse. The two-time WIAC Offensive Player of the Week also broke several records throughout the season, setting UW-Platteville program records for career receptions (229), receiving yards (3039), and receiving touchdowns (40). His 40 career receiving touchdowns is also a new WIAC record, surpassing the previous record of 36 set by Jake Kumerow of UW-Whitewater. Stare went over 100 receiving yards in four games, with a season-high of 189 coming in the win against UW-La Crosse. His longest catch of season went for 92 yards against UW-Whitewater, which resulted in the longest offensive touchdown in team history.

Ryan Munz (Kwik Trip George Chryst Coach of the Year)

Munz picked up his second coach of the year on the week after being named AFCA Region Coach of the Year on Tuesday. The third-year head coach guided the Pioneers to a WIAC title, the program's first since 1970 while posting a 9-1 overall record. UW-Platteville had several big wins on the season, including ranked victories over conference foes in UW-La Crosse, UW-River Falls, and UW-Whitewater. Munz and the Pioneers will be making the program's third trip to the NCAA DIII Championships after clinching the conference's automatic qualifier.

Michael Priami (First Team Offense)

Priami was the conductor of the WIAC's best passing attack, and his 36 passing touchdowns paced the conference by a significant margin. That touchdown total is currently tied for second-most in a single season in program history and is just one shy of tying the record. Priami completed 68.4 percent of his passes for a career-high 2,649 yards, and he added 74 yards and one touchdown on the ground. The St. Charles, Illinois native reached the 300-yard plateau three times and threw at least five touchdowns in a game four times, including a season-high six in the win over UW-Eau Claire. Priami closed the regular season strong, tossing 17 touchdowns against just one interception in the final four games.

Aidan Sproule (First Team Defense)

Sproule tied for third in the conference in sacks with 4.0 while starting all 10 games on the defensive line. The senior tied his career-high with 27.0 tackles, and finished with 10.0 tackles for loss, which was fifth-most in the WIAC. Sproule put together a big performance in the Pioneers win over UW-River Falls, finishing with a season-high 6.0 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and 2.0 tackles for loss.

Will Straka (First Team Defense)

Straka started all 10 games at linebacker for the Pioneers and recorded a team-high 69.0 tackles, which was good for fourth in the conference. The junior lived in opponents' backfields, posting 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks on the season. Straka reached double-digit tackles in three games, including a season-high 13.0 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss against UW-River Falls on October 12.

Benjamin Younker (First Team Special Teams)

Younker finished as the top punter in the WIAC, averaging a conference-best 42.5 yards per punt across his 38 attempts. Seventeen of the sophomore's punts landed inside the 20-yard line, and he had 10 punts that traveled over 50 yards, three more than anyone else in the conference. In the Pioneers win against UW-La Crosse, Younker helped flip the field by averaging 50.6 yards per punt on his five attempts and he recorded his season-long punt of 68 yards.

Joshua Zitzer (Second Team Offense)

Zitzer was a steady presence along the Pioneers strong offensive line as he started all 10 games at left tackle. The junior was part of a unit that allowed a conference-low eight sacks while leading the WIAC with 289.6 passing yards per game.

Ryan Doherty (Second Team Offense)

Doherty was second on the team behind Brandt Stare in receiving yards with 671 while averaging a team-high 17.2 yards per reception. Those marks were both career-bests for the senior wide receiver, and he added eight receiving scores on 39 catches across his 10 starts. Doherty recorded a career-high 129 yards and three touchdowns in the Pioneers win over UW-Eau Claire on November 9.

Rece Shelton (Second Team Defense)

Shelton finished with a career-high 2.5 sacks and 24.0 total tackles while starting along the Pioneers defensive line. The senior added 3.0 tackles for loss and joined Sproule along a front that held opposing teams to just 2.9 yards per carry.

Nicholas Alberico (Second Team Defense)

Alberico started all 10 games in the Pioneers secondary and was tied for third on team with 48.0 total tackles. Thirty-four of those tackles were solo stops, which was second the team and he added 12 pass breakups, which were tied for second-most in the conference with his teammate Harrison Meyer. Alberico recorded a season-high nine tackles in the regular season finale against UW-Stout.

Harrison Meyer (Second Team Defense

Meyer stepped into a starting role in the Pioneers secondary as a sophomore and finished fifth on the team with 45.0 tackles. He was all over the field on the back end, tying Alberico for the team-lead in pass breakups with 12 and adding three interceptions, which tied him for fourth-most in the conference. His 61 interception return yards were the second-most in the WIAC.

Zackary Bothun (Honorable Mention Offense)

Bothun was one of the top running backs in the conference, finishing second in rushing yards with 833 and tied for third in rushing touchdowns with eight. The sophomore added another 125 yards and two touchdowns in the pass game to finish with 958 total yards of offense, the fourth-most in the WIAC. Bothun surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground four times, including a season-high 158 yards and four touchdowns in the Pioneers win over Wabash on September 21.

Garrett Stare (Honorable Mention Offense)

Garrett Stare was the third UW-Platteville wide receiver to earn conference honors after finishing sixth in the WIAC with 600 receiving yards. His 10 receiving scores were the second-most in the conference, and he averaged a career-high 14.0 yards per catch. The junior put together one of his best games of the season in the regular season finale against UW-Stout with 10 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Beau Kopp (Honorable Mention Special Teams Player)

Kopp appeared in all 10 games while primarily serving as the Pioneers long snapper. The junior finished with one special teams tackle on the season.

John Goomey (All-Sportsmanhip Team)

Goomey started all 10 games at tight end for the Pioneers and finished with three catches for 14 yards. The senior scored a pair of one-yard touchdowns on the season, both coming in UW-Platteville's 28-7 win over UW-River Falls on October 12. His one-yard touchdown reception opened the scoring in that game, and he added a short rushing score late in the third to cap the Pioneers scoring.

Brent Allen (Assistant Coach of the Year)

Allen was named Assistant Coach of the Year in an award voted on by the coaches. The Pioneers Offensive Coordinator helped lead an offense that averaged 38.1 points and 431.9 yards per game, both second-best marks in the WIAC. UW-Platteville averaged a conference-high 6.5 yards per play and scored 52 offensive touchdowns, including 40 coming through the air.