Baker, Harris Named Defensive MVPs as Scots Put 13 Players on MWC All-Conference Team

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (11/22/2024) — The Monmouth College football team put nine players on the Midwest Conference First Team and four more on the Second Team as announced by the MWC on Tuesday. Senior defensive end Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) was named Defensive Live MVP and senior defensive back Nick Harris (Winter Haven, Florida) was named Defensive Skills MVP.

The Monmouth offense had five first-team selections with quarterback Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois), wide receivers Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois) and Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois) along with linemen James Conner (Kewanee, Illinois) and Colby McMillan (Spring Hill, Florida).

Deem, a first-year starter, has completed 58.6% of his passes for 2,499 yards and 35 touchdowns. His yardage ranks eighth in school history for a single season and his touchdowns are fourth, behind only three Alex Tanney seasons. He is second in the MWC in passing yards and touchdowns. Deem also ran for 255 yards and two touchdowns on the season.

Thornton is a three-time first-team selection with 60 catches for 972 yards and a single-season record 19 touchdowns. He posted three 100+ yard games on the season, scored in nine of the 10 games and had at least four receptions in all 10 games. He ranks seventh on the single-season receptions list, sixth on the yardage list, first in receiving touchdowns and second in points.

Despite missing the final three games with an injury, Bergren caught 45 passes on the season for 726 yards and seven touchdowns. He topped 100 yards in three games and found the end zone in five different contests. A repeat first-team selection, Bergren ranks third in the MWC in yards per catch and yards per game.

Connor played at left tackle for the Scots this season and repeated as a first-team selection. McMillan played both tackle and guard for the Scots and also repeated as a first-team selection. McMillan was a second-team selection in 2022. The Scots offensive line allowed just six sacks all season while helping the offense to average 456.6 yards per game.

DEFENSE ADDS MORE

On the defensive side of the ball, the Scots had two other first-teamers to join Harris and Baker. Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) repeated as a first-teamer while Derek Chandler (Monmouth, Illinois) was selected for the first time.

Baker was also a first-team selection last year and a second-team selection in 2022. This is the fourth year in a row a Monmouth player has won DL MVP as Korbyn Personett took the honor in 2021 and 2022 while Cikauskas won last year. Baker leads the MWC with seven sacks and ranks second with 16 TFL and 11 pass break ups. His PBU total ranks third in Monmouth history for a single season and his TFL ranks top 20.

Harris is Monmouth's first Defensive Skills MVP since Clark Gaden in 2019. He is third on the Scots with 53 tackles and added 3.5 TFL and one sack. Harris had two interceptions on the season, two forced fumbles and four PBU. He set a career high with 17 tackles against Lake Forest on Nov. 9. Harris was a first-team selection last year and a second-team selection in 2022.

Cikauskas leads the MWC in TFL with 17 and ranks right behind Baker in sacks with six. He has 23 solo tackles, two forced fumbles, one recovery and three PBU. This is his second straight first-team selection.

Chandler is a first-time selection with 57 tackles, second-most on the team. He is tied for second in the MWC with 11 PBU while adding two interceptions, five TFL and one forced fumble.

SECOND TEAM SELECTIONS

In addition to the nine first-team selections, the Scots also put four players on the MWC Second Team.

Senior running back McKade Brooks (Astoria, Illinois) is on the second team for the second straight season despite missing the final four games of the year with an injury. Brooks ran for 515 yards on 87 carries this season. He scored seven touchdowns, averaged 5.9 yards per carry and a team-best 85.8 yards per game.

Defensively the Scots have two second-teamers: Brant Baltes (Lisbon, Iowa) and Carson Strating (Morrison, Illinois).

Baltes was a first-team selection in 2022 before missing all of last season with a knee injury. He led the Scots in tackles as a defensive tackle with 63 total tackles, 41 solo. He also posted 12.5 TFL, three sacks and blocked a kick. Baltes was 12th in the MWC in tackles, ninth in solo tackles and fifth in TFL.

Strating, a freshman, played in seven games and racked up 35 total tackles and 25 solo tackles. He recorded five TFL, two sacks, one forced fumble and one PBU. He had at least five tackles in five games and had a season-high seven against Cornell and Lake Forest.

The final selection for the second team is punter Cody Szelc (Riverview, Florida). A senior, Szelc led the MWC with a 40.5 yard punting average in 10 games. He ranks third in the MWC with nine punts inside the 20 and fourth in the MWC with four punts of at least 50 yards. Szelc also had a long of 56 and did not have a punt blocked all season.

The Scots led the MWC in first-team selections with nine and tied for second in overall selections with 13. Lake Forest had seven first-teamers and 17 total selections.

The Scots finish the season in the Cousins Subs Lakefront Bowl against St. Norbert, a rematch of last year's 21-14 Monmouth win. The game will kickoff at 11 a.m. Saturday at Raabe Field on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.