Football Racks Up All-GAC Awards and Academic Accolades
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference has unveiled its 2025 football awards and All-Conference teams, and East Central University made a major statement. The Tigers packed the list with 23 All-GAC selections, 18 Academic Honor Roll honorees, and one Elite Scholar Athlete, showcasing the program's strength on the field and in the classroom.
Leading the way were
Kaden Jones,
Cade Searcy, and
Michael Onwuzurike, each earning All-GAC Second Team honors after outstanding seasons. Jones earned his first career conference recognition, Searcy claimed his second consecutive honor after placing on the Third Team last year, and Onwuzurike collected his third career accolade following Honorable Mention selections in 2021 and 2022. Jones paced the Tigers in receiving with 36 catches for 637 yards and four touchdowns, ranking third in the GAC. Searcy powered the ECU rushing attack with 595 yards on 108 carries and four touchdowns to finish ninth in the conference. Onwuzurike anchored the defense with 55 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and 6.0 sacks, placing him in the GAC's top 10 in both categories.
ECU's depth was on full display as 20 additional Tigers earned All-GAC Third Team honors. Offensively, the team was represented by quarterback
Sergio Kennedy, running back
Quincy Thompson, wide receivers
Xavier Gordon and
Brooks Rigney, tight ends
Bryce Bodkin and
Jacob Martin, and offensive linemen
Alixzandur Brown,
Ty Dodd, and
Joshua Rodriguez. On the defensive side, defensive end
Justin McCray, defensive tackles
Seth Aguilera and
Oladotun Olanipekun, inside linebackers
Amajah Lewis and
Caden Pickens, cornerbacks
Terry Lewis II and
Alon Woodberry, and safety
Keebler Wagoner were honored. Special teams standouts included punter
Reece Conner, kicker
Alexander McGregor, and kickoff and punt returner
Tyler Akers.
ECU also shined academically with several Tigers recognized for their excellence in the classroom.
Seth Spady earned one of the conference's highest distinctions as a GAC Elite Scholar, awarded to student-athletes with top-tier GPAs and at least 70 completed credit hours. He was one of only four recipients across the entire GAC.
The Tigers' presence continued on the Academic Honor Roll, where
Seth Aguilera,
Brett Alfred,
Bryce Bodkin,
Molinsky Desire,
Ben Farrell,
Carson Flanary,
Kevin Gooch,
Tyson Johnson,
Edoreh Jokoh,
Wesley Morris,
Michael Onwuzurike,
Oladotun Olanipekun,
Joshua Rodriguez,
River Shaw,
Rashaud Smith,
William Thompson V,
Jaelyn Walker, and
Colin Willetts were recognized for maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA and completing at least one year of full-time collegiate coursework.
