WESTWOOD, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its football postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Thursday afternoon. The awards are determined by the conference's eight coaches following the conclusion of regular season play.

Fullback Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) of Springfield College was voted NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year, while his teammate Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) earned Defensive Athlete of the Year honors. Springfield's Aaziah Scott (Savannah, Ga.) was voted Rookie of the Year. Springfield's Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) earned Special Teams Player of the Year. The SUNY Maritime coaching staff was selected as Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.

SUNY Maritime's Steven Stassi (East Islip, N.Y.) is the first team quarterback selection, while Shtefan is featured at the fullback position. Springfield nabs two running back selections in Dante Vasquez (Rockland, Mass.) and Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.). U.S. Coast Guard Academy's James Wheeler IV (Oneida, N.Y.) and SUNY Maritime's Devin Cline (Miller Place, N.Y.) also made their way onto the team at the running back spot. The tight end spot went to Douglas Cain (Holden, Mass.) of WPI. Luke Caliendo (North Babylon, N.Y.) of SUNY Maritime, Broock Desta (San Diego, Calif.) of Coast Guard and Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are the wide receiver selections. Five offensive linemen made their way onto the first team, Aidan Canty (Barnstable, Mass.) of Salve Regina University, Craig Connell (Goshen, N.Y.) and Kevin Lind (Hazlet, N.J.) of Springfield, Jay Martin (Hampton, N.J.) from Coast Guard and Billy Tyrrell (Dudley, Mass.) of WPI. Defensively, Lucky Deignan (Indianapolis, Ind.) of MIT, Nick Bostrom (Norwell, Mass.) of Salve Regina, Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) of Springfield and Gavin Chieff (Bernardsville, N.J.) from WPI made the team as defensive backs. Aaizah Scott headlines the defensive line selections, and is joined by Jack Grier (Cornelius, N.C.) of MIT, Vinny Fundaro (Levittown, N.Y.) from SUNY Maritime and Jack Temple (Rockville Centre, N.Y.)  from U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.  Billy Carr (Plantsville, Conn.) is featured as a linebacker, along with teammate Will McKay (Tewksbury, Mass.), Norwich University's Shayne Leddy (Spring Lake, N.J.) and Merchant Marine's Zatyk Holub (Mount Vernon, Iowa). The first team kicker selection is Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) of Springfield, while punting accolades go to MIT's Daniel Monaghan (Northfield, Minn). Maurer garners first team accolades as a return specialist. Jacob Silvester (Lancaster, Mass.) of Springfield is the first team athlete selection.

WPI's Mike Ingraffia (Kings Park, N.Y.) is the second team quarterback pick, while Springfield's Joseph Cannizzaro (Lincoln Park, N.J.) secures the fullback position. Carson Phelps (Wichita, Kan.) of MIT and Justan Luzzi (Belleville, N.J.) from Salve Regina take the running back spots. MIT nabs the tight end slot with Michael Dennison (Beaufort, S.C.). Josh Letellier (Groton Long Point, Conn.) of Salve Regina, Ian Derda (Guilford, Conn.) of SUNY Maritime and Matthew LaBouliere (Doylestown, Pa.) of Coast Guard are the wide receiver selections. Five offensive linemen made their way onto the second team, Rasheed Patterson (Newington, Conn.) of Norwich, Grady Roadman (Shrewsbury, Mass.) of Springfield, Kevin Walter (Rockaway, N.J.) from SUNY Maritime, Cameron Taylor (Novato, Calif.) of USMMA and Thomas McDonagh (Northport, N.Y.) from WPI. Defensively, Caleb Davis (Houston, Texas.) of MIT, Colby Richardson (East Hartford, Conn.) and Tyler Paladino (Cross River, N.Y.) of Springfield and Jeremy Henault (Goffstown, N.H.) from Norwich made the team as defensive backs. Second team linebacker selections include Chase Williams (Missoula, Mont.) of MIT, Mark Sokk (Bloomfield, Conn.) of Salve Regina and Jack Kellner (Seaford, N.Y.) and Kevin Wu (Staten Island, N.Y.) from SUNY Maritime. In the defensive lineman slot is Maddox Reed (Spring Hill, Tenn.) from Norwich, Brayden Schuster (Middletown, R.I.) from Salve and Cameron Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) and JT Kinsey (Savannah, Ga.) of Springfield. The second team kicker selection is Nathan DiRado (Carver, Mass.) of WPI, while punting accolades go to Merchant Marine's George Ethan Ferry (Bethlehem, Pa.). Keith Sutton (Blackstone, Mass.) of Salve Regina garners second team accolades as a return specialist. Merchant Marine Academy's Gervy Alota (San Diego, Calif.) wraps up the selections in the second team athlete slot.

Offensive Player of the Year- Arsen Shtefan (Gr., FB), Springfield College

Shtefan put together another tremendous season as the lead back for the top rushing offense in all of college football.  He is one of only three players in the country to rush for over 1,200 yards and have at least 17 touchdowns this year, as the graduate student ranks seventh nationally in rushing yards (1,286) and is sixth in the country in rushing touchdowns (17).  He led the conference in rushing yards per game with 128.6, which puts him at eighth in DIII. He is the first Springfield College football player to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons since 2007 and fueled an offense that is averaging 451 yards per game on the ground and scoring nearly 50 points per outing. 

Defensive Player of the Year- Billy Carr (Gr., LB), Springfield College

Carr leads a Springfield defensive unit which has allowed just 11 points per game in conference play, as he posted a team-best 69 tackles, including 7.60 tackles for loss.  He has also forced and recovered a fumble this season and scored a touchdown on special teams. 

Special Teams Player of the Year – Joe Maurer (GS, WR), Springfield College

Maurer was a threat all season in the return game and currently ranks 10th nationally in punt return average (15.5) and 15th in kickoff return average (28.9).  He posted one kickoff return for a touchdown and has nearly 550 yards of combined kick returns this year. 

Rookie of the Year- Aiziah Scott (Fy., DL), Springfield College

In his first season at Springfield, Scott made an immediate impact on the defensive line for the Pride.  His 41 tackles rank fourth on the team, as he registered 3.5 tackles for loss as well as an interception.   He has produced the most tackles for a Springfield College freshman since 2016 and the most tackles by a Springfield College first-year defensive lineman in Division III program history. 

Coaching Staff of the Year – SUNY Maritime

The Privateers, led by head coach Jamel Ramsay, went 7-3 overall, and 5-2 in conference play, earning a bid into the inaugural Fusion Bowl. In his first year at the helm, Ramsey improved upon Maritime's 3-4 conference record from a season ago. The SUNY Maritime coaching staff includes Ramsay, defensive coordinator Tom Lindley, Offensive Coordinator Omar King, Offensive Line Coach Zach Sterling, Passing Game Coordinator Tom Wright, Wide Receivers Coach Andrew Lalama, Linebackers Coach Jason Calman, Defensive Back Coach Jason Depew, Assistant Defensive Line Coach William Crean and Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Alex Fitzsimmons.

2024 NEWMAC Football All-Conference
 

Team	Name	Position	Institution
First Team All-Conference	Aidan Canty	OL	Salve Regina University
First Team All-Conference	Craig Connell	OL	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Kevin Lind	OL	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Jay Martin	OL	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
First Team All-Conference	Billy Tyrrell	OL	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Steven Stassi	QB	SUNY Maritime
First Team All-Conference	Blane Hart	RB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Dante Vasquez	RB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Devin Cline	RB	SUNY Maritime
First Team All-Conference	James Wheeler IV	RB	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
First Team All-Conference	Arsen Shtefan	FB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Luke Caliendo	WR	SUNY Maritime
First Team All-Conference	Broock Desta	WR	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
First Team All-Conference	Talsen Smith	WR	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
First Team All-Conference	Douglas Cain	TE	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Lucky Deignan	DB	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Nick Bostrom	DB	Salve Regina University
First Team All-Conference	Joe Maurer	DB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Gavin Chieff	DB	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Jack Grier	DL	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Aaziah Scott	DL	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Vinny Fundaro	DL	SUNY Maritime
First Team All-Conference	Jack Temple	DL	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
First Team All-Conference	Shayne Leddy	LB	Norwich University
First Team All-Conference	Billy Carr	LB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Will McKay	LB	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Zatyk Holub	LB	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
First Team All-Conference	Ian Wernik	K	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Daniel Monaghan	P	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Joe Maurer	RS	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Jacob Silvester	Athlete	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Rasheed Patterson	OL	Norwich University
Second Team All-Conference	Grady Roadman	OL	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Kevin Walter	OL	SUNY Maritime
Second Team All-Conference	Cameron Taylor	OL	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Thomas McDonagh	OL	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Mike Ingraffia	QB	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Carson Phelps	RB	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Justan Luzzi	RB	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Joseph Cannizzaro	FB	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Josh Letellier	WR	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Ian Derda	WR	SUNY Maritime
Second Team All-Conference	Matthew LaBouliere	WR	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Michael Dennison	TE	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Caleb Davis	DB	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Jeremy Henault	DB	Norwich University
Second Team All-Conference	Tyler Paladino	DB	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Colby Richardson	DB	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Maddox Reed	DL	Norwich University
Second Team All-Conference	Brayden Schuster	DL	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Cameron Hart	DL	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	JT Kinsey	DL	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Chase Williams	LB	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Mark Sokk	LB	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Jack Kellner	LB	SUNY Maritime
Second Team All-Conference	Kevin Wu	LB	SUNY Maritime
Second Team All-Conference	Nathan DiRado	K	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	George Ethan Ferrey	P	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Keith Sutton	RS	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Gervy Alota	Athlete	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and United States Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.