Complete OAC Football Preseason Polls (.pdf)
CANTON, OHIO -- The Baldwin Wallace University football team was picked to finish third by both the Ohio Athletic Conference Coaches and the OAC Media at the Annual OAC Media Day Football Preview at the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Museum. BW is coming off of a very successful 7-3 record in 2012.
"We appreciate the confidence in our football program and in our student-athletes by both the OAC Coaches and OAC Media," said 12th-year Yellow Jacket Head Coach John Snell, who enters the 2013 season with a career record of 71-41. "Ultimately, we will be judged by how our student-athletes conduct themselves both in the classroom and perform on the football field."
"Our goals at BW never change," said Snell. "Each year we set out to win championships. Our first goal is to win the prestigious Ohio Athletic Conference title. Our feeling is that if we can win the OAC title, we have what it takes to win the NCAA Division III national title."
"Last year, we had a solid season and made some excellent improvement on both sides of the football and on special teams," continued Snell, who's team is 22-8 during the past three seasons. "This season, we return a number of key student-athletes on offense who have the talent and ability to take us to the next level of success. With that said, we also lost some outstanding athletes to graduation off of our defense, and that's a major concern coming into this season."
The Yellow Jackets are ranked 20th in the Lindy's Sports Annuals and 23rd in the d3football.com (www.d3football.com) Division III Preseason National polls.
Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets will be the return of 37 lettermen and 14 fulltime starters, including seven on offense, and both its placekicker and punter. In addition, the team returns two of the most explosive kick return specialists in Division III in senior speedsters and NCAA Division III track All-Americans Kevin Johnson (Maple Heights/St. Ignatius) and two-time first-team All-OAC pick Josiah Holt (Elyria/Grafton Midview). A total of 168 student-athletes are expected when preseason camp opens on August 18.
Offensively, the Yellow Jackets will be led by Holt, the return of four starters on the offensive line, running backs Isaac Reed III (Lehigh Acres, Fla/Lehigh) and Nolan Sordyl (Gurnee, Ill./ Warren Township) and a bevy of receivers, including Academic All-OAC player Gabe Adams (Hudson). Senior second-team All-OAC tackle Jason Cook (Streetsboro) and Academic All-OAC center Zac Wojciechowski (Cambridge) anchor the line along with senior guard Alex Lovasz (North Ridgeville) and junior tackle Sean Hemlick (Uniontown/Lake).
Defensively, BW returns six starters. On the line, junior tackle Addison Carbone (Hudson) returns after missing almost all of last year and will be joined by senior tackle Jon Hofer (Akron/Springfield) and senior end Sam Gordon (Broadview Heights/University School). Senior middle linebacker Michael Stacchiotti (Girard), who led the team in tackles, will be the main man in the middle and senior cornerback Kory Gillissie (Parma/ St. Ignatius) and Academic All-OAC safety Zach Barley (Hudson) return in the secondary.
In addition to speedsters Holt and Johnson, second-team All-OAC placekicker Chris Mohler (Kent/Roosevelt) and punter Matt Harmon (Canfield) return to bolster the special teams. Gillissie also is back to return punts. The combination of Holt (three), Johnson (two) and Gillissie (one) have a total of six returns for touchdown the past three years.
BW opens its season on September 14 at Bluffton University. The Yellow Jackets open OAC play on Sept. 21 versus Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University in the battle for the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl trophy at 6:00 p.m.
FOR MORE BW Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
