COW kicker NCAC Special Teams Player of the Year

The College of Wooster’s Lake Barrett is the first Fighting Scot to earn the North Coast Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year while junior Brazos Gadler joined the five-year placekicker on the all-conference first team as a returner, the NCAC announced recently.

Gadler at receiver, senior Bryce Kamphues and sophomore Tate Journell were second-team All-NCAC selections while junior Jon Banal and senior Domenic DeMuth rounded out this year’s honorees as third-team selections.

Barrett, Wooster’s first NCAC major award winner since 2017, earned all-conference laurels for the fourth time. The senior is Wooster’s eighth player to earn All-NCAC football honors in four separate seasons, and this is his first first-team selection. Barrett was the lone primary placekicker league-wide to not miss an extra point kick this fall, finishing 43-for-43 for a third straight season with a perfect percentage.

In field goals Barrett led the NCAC with an 80% success rate, going 8-for-10 and matching his career-long with a 42-yard field goal at Wittenberg University. Barrett became Wooster’s all-time leader in field goals and graduates with 29. The biology and education major’s 99.4 (155-for-156) career extra-point percentage is the highest in program history while he is second all-time in extra-point makes (155) and fifth in scoring (242 points). Barrett is the first placekicker in program history to earn four All-NCAC honors.

Gadler’s success as a returner helped the junior rank second league-wide in all-purpose yards at 146 per game. He led the NCAC with 557 kickoff return yards and was third at 24.2 yards per return. As a receiver Gadler’s 821 yards are currently tops in the NCAC while he is in the top eight league-wide in receptions (49) and yards per reception (16.8). Gadler posted top 10 program marks in receiving yards and all-purpose yards this fall.

Kamphues, Wooster’s starting center, led a line that helped the team average 237 passing yards and 139 rushing yards per game, with the rushing output ranking as the team’s top mark since 2014.

Journell, a starting wide receiver and cornerback, earned all-conference honors for his play on defense, where he was a two-time NCAC Defensive Athlete of the Week this fall. Journell’s four interceptions rank second within the NCAC and were the most by a Scot since 2013. Journell added four breakups and 31 tackles to his statistics haul.

Banal, a linebacker, ranked second on the team with 56 tackles and finished the regular season with 10 tackles for loss, a total tops on the team. DeMuth, a defensive lineman, ranked third on the team with 51 tackles and was in the team’s top two with seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Wooster went 4-6 this fall with a 3-5 mark in NCAC play.

Kevin Smith is director of athletic communication at The College of Wooster.