Contributed/ETSU Athletics

ETSU football had nine Buccaneers earn Preseason All-SoCon Honors, and placed fourth in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. These results are an improvement from the 2024-2025 season, where the Bucs had 3 players earn the Preseason All-SoCon Honors and placed sixth in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. 

The preseason honors were announced at the Southern Conference Media Day on July 22 at Hotel Hartness in Greenville, S.C.

The Preseason All-SoCon Honors are awards given to student-athletes who are predicted to perform well in their upcoming season, and be among the best in their respective sport. Coaches within the Southern Conference nominate players from other teams, and then vote for the players they believe show promise for the upcoming season. 

Andy Fisher, the associate director of athletic communications at ETSU says receiving these awards “bring recognition to the players” and “it gives fans a little bit more of a background,” especially since many of the ETSU honorees are new to the program this year. Fisher said, “It’s always rewarding to be recognized for the work that you do, and people respect you, people think that you’re a really good player. It gives a tip of the hat to more folks.” 

The All-SoCon First Team honorees from ETSU were offensive lineman Ashton Flinn, running back Devontae Houston, wide receiver Hakeem Meggett and pass rusher Nick Hunter. Five Bucs were represented on the second team, which included defensive lineman Brenden LeBlanc, kicker Ewan Johnson, offensive linemen Johnathan Cline and Micah Sumpter, and linebacker Ty Anderson. Out of the nine teams in the Southern Conference, ETSU had the third most players be awarded with the honors, behind only Western Carolina and Mercer.

As the season begins to heat up, make sure to watch out for the ETSU football team, especially these nine Preseason All-SoCon honorees, to see how the 2025 season pans out. ETSU will open their 2025 football season on Aug. 30, playing Murray State in Johnson City. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium. To purchase tickets, you can visit etsutickets.com or call the ETSU Athletics Ticket office at (423) 439-3878.

For more information on ETSU football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.

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