Complete All-Ohio Athetic Conference Team (.pdf)
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Six Baldwin Wallace University football student-athletes have been selected to the 2023 All-Ohio Athletic Conference team as voted on by the coaches of the league.
Senior Academic All-OAC offensive lineman George Newcomb (West Seneca, N.Y.) was named to the first team. Senior Academic-All-OAC linebacker Mason Levasseur (Panama City, Fla./South Walton), senior defensive lineman Jordan Smith (Painesville/Riverside) and freshman punter/placekicker Joseph Evans (Chardon) were selected to the second team. Senior defensive back/wide receiver Darius Stokes (Canton/GlenOak) and sophomore offensive lineman Nick Messenger (Painesville/Riverside) were tabbed as honorable mention.
Newcomb garners his third career accolade and his first first-team honor after earning second-team last season and honorable mention in fall of 2021. This season, he played and started in all 10 games at left guard. Newcomb anchored the offensive line that averaged 388.8 yards of total offense per game. In his career, Newcomb appeared in and started in 30 games and played every position on the offensive at least one time during his career. BW has averaged 373.8 yards of total offense per game during his career. Off the field, Newcomb is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District performer, Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar, and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
Levasseur earns his third career honor and his second straight second-team honor. He was an honorable mention selection in the fall of 2021. Levasseur played in and started in all 10 games. He led the team and was fourth in the OAC with a career-high 97 tackles. Levasseur was second on the squad with a career-best tying 7.5 tackles for loss and was third on the team with a career-high 2.5 quarterback sacks. He also tallied a career-best four pass breakups, intercepted a career-high tying one pass, and recovered one fumble. Levasseur was named the Dick Miller Homecoming Defensive Player of the Game on September 30 and the OAC Defensive Player of the Week on October 16. For his career, Levasseur appeared and started in 27 games. He recorded 232 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, 3.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
Smith garners his second career accolade and his second straight second-team honor. This season, he led the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks. Smith was seventh on the squad with a career-high 39 tackles. In his career, Smith appeared in 30 games and recorded 94 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, four pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
Evans earns his first career honor for his punting duties. He was the placekicker for all 10 games and took over the punting duties in week three. Evans led the league with 14 punts inside the 20-yard line and was second in the league with 39.9 yards per punt. He had 1476 yards in punts with a long of 57 yards and had three punts fair caught. Evans was 32-of-35 on extra points and was 7-of-8 in fields goals. He hit a career-long 32-yard field goal on two occasions and booted the game-winning 27-yard field goal against Heidelberg on November 4. Evans led the team with 56 points scored. He was named the OAC Special Teams Player of the Week on September 25.
Stokes garners his first career honor after playing both ways for a majority of the season. He played in all 10 games at wide receiver and took over the starting corner back duties in week four of the season. On the offensive side, Stokes led the team with four receiving touchdowns and was tied for the squad lead with 337 yards. He was second with 24 receptions. Stokes was fourth on the team with 26 points. On the defensive side, Stokes was third on the team with a career-high 45 tackles. He had two pass breakups and recorded his first career interception against Heidelberg on November 4. For his career, Stokes appeared in 42 games and caught 125 passes for 1,819 yards with 17 touchdowns. He returned 11 kickoffs for 188 yards and five punts for 23 yards. Stokes tallied 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one interception.
Messenger earns his first accolade after starting in nine games at right guard. This season, he anchored an offensive line that averaged 388.8 yards of total offense per game. For his career, Messenger has appeared and started in 19 games. The Yellow Jackets have average 380.1 yards of total offense per game during his career
BW finished the 2023 campaign with a record of 6-4 and a 6-3 mark in the OAC.
The 2024 season campaign kicks off at home on September 7 when the Yellow Jackets renew their rivalry with Wittenberg University.