Twelve Wabash players along with head coach Don Morel were honored as members of the 2019 All-North Coast Athletic Conference Team on Thursday. In addition, freshman quarterback Liam Thompson was named the 2019 NCAC Football Newcomer of the Year, sophomore punter Joey Annee earned the Special Teams Player of the Year Award, and Morel was voted as the 2019 NCAC Football Coach of the Year.
 
Joining Annee as First Team All-NCAC selections were Isaac Avant, Jake Slager, Dane Smith, Brandon Yeagy, Jose Franco, and Jake Page. Cooper Sullivan, Connor Phelps, Brock Heffron, and Thompson were selected to the All-NCAC Second Team. Malcolm Lang was named to the All-NCAC Honorable Mention Team.
 
Annee was named the Special Teams Player of the Year and a First Team All-NCAC selection after leading the conference and ranking 12th in the nation with an average of 41.2 yards per punt. He has punted 40 times for a total of 1,647 yards with a season-long of 64 yards. Annee ranks second on the Wabash single-season record list for average punt yards. He trails Cam Sobleski who averaged 41.3 yards per punt in 2013. Annee hit the longest punt of his career this season with a 64-yard kick at Allegheny.
 
Thompson earned Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-NCAC honors after throwing for 1,997 yards through ten games of his rookie season. He completed 148 of 240 passes with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. His passing yards are the second-most in Wabash history by a freshman, trailing only Jake Knott who threw for 2,612 in 1999. Thompson also rushed for 252 yards and five TDs. He ranks second in the NCAC in passing yards per game at 199.7 and is tied for fourth in passing touchdowns.
 
Morel earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season after guiding his Little Giant team to a 7-2 record in conference games and 7-3 mark through the regular season, a share of the NCAC title for the second straight year, and a berth in NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2015. Wabash shared the NCAC football title with Denison and Wittenberg for the second consecutive season. The conference championship is the ninth for the Little Giants since joining the league in 2000 and marks the first repeat effort since winning four straight championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Morel is 32-8 overall in four seasons as the Wabash head coach with a record of 29-7 against NCAC opponents. Wabash will play at North Central College Saturday at noon (CST) in the first round of the 2019 NCAA DIII playoffs   
 
Avant was named to the All-NCAC First Team for the second consecutive year at running back after rushing for 849 yards and three touchdowns while playing in only eight games through the 2019 regular season. He is second in the conference in average rushing yards per game at 106.1 and is sixth in Wabash history in career rushing yards with a total of 2,921 yards on 521 attempts. Avant needs 38 rushing yards in the NCAA Division III playoff game at North Central to move into fifth place on the Wabash all-time rushing list.
 
Slager and Smith earned First Team All-NCAC honors and Phelps joined them as a Second Team All-NCAC selection on the offensive line after helping Wabash produce 4,000 yards of total offense through ten games. The Little Giants' average of 400 yards per game ranked second in the conference. Wabash ran for an average of 196.8 yards per game, second-most among NCAC teams. Wabash also ranks second in the conference in "red zone" offense by scoring on 76.7 of its opportunities inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
 
Yeagy received First Team All-NCAC honors in 2019 after being selected to the 2018 All-NCAC Second Team at linebacker. He led Wabash and ranked 10th in the conference in total tackles with 79 this season. He matched his best number of tackles in a game with 13 this season against Denison. Yeagy also tied for second on the Wabash team with eight tackles for losses and ranked third in total sacks with 2-1/2 for 12 yards.
 
Franco was selected as a First Team All-NCAC defensive back after being named Newcomer of the Year and a Second Team All-NCAC honoree in 2018. He led the Wabash team and ranked fifth in the conference with 11 pass breakups. Franco also recorded a fumble return for a touchdown against Oberlin as one of two fumble recoveries for the season. He intercepted one pass and blocked one kick on special teams. Franco recorded a total of 39 tackles for the sixth-most by a Wabash player this season.
 
Page earned First Team All-NCAC honors in 2019 after being selected to the 2018 All-NCAC Second Team as a defensive back. He recorded 41 tackles to rank fifth among Wabash players this season. He made a single-game best two tackles for losses totaling five yards against Oberlin and recorded an interception in the 126th Monon Bell Classic at DePauw. Page also had five pass breakups and forced a fumble this season.
 
Sullivan was named to the All-NCAC Second Team as a freshman wide receiver after catching 38 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns through ten games. He leads Wabash and ranks fourth among conference players in receiving yards per game (58.4) and is fifth in the NCAC in touchdown receptions. He also ran for two touchdowns. Sullivan is fourth in Wabash history in receptions as a freshman with 38. Thirty-three of Sullivan's 38 receptions have ended in either first downs or touchdowns this season.
 
Heffron earned Second Team All-NCAC honors for the second consecutive season at linebacker. He ranked third among Wabash players through ten games with a total of 50 tackles. Heffron recorded 2-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 10 yards in the regular season for the Little Giants along with a sack of seven yards against Hiram. He also knocked down five passes to tie for third most among Wabash players this season.
 
Lang earned a place on the All-NCAC team for the first time as an honorable mention selection on the defensive line. He made 34 tackles and tied for second among Wabash players with eight tackles for losses of 51 yards this season. Lang finished second on the team with 5-1/2 sacks for 38 yards and led Wabash with four quarterback hurries. He recorded a single-game best eight tackles in the Little Giants' win over Hiram including 2-1/2 sacks and 2-1/2 tackles for losses. He forced a fumble in the victory over Ohio Wesleyan.