2025 G-MAC All-Conference Teams

The Hillsdale College football team completed a winning regular season on Nov. 15, and were well-rewarded for their achievements on the field in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's annual awards release on Tuesday afternoon.

Hillsdale won four of the 10 major awards handed out by the G-MAC and earned eight All-Conference honors with their play in 2025.

Two of Hillsdale's six first-team honorees won major conference awards. Junior Shea Ruddy was the conference's Special Teams Player of the Year for the second straight season, after returning multiple kickoffs for touchdowns in back-to-back years. Ruddy led the conference in both kickoff return yardage (783) and average per return (32.6) while also leading the conference in All-Purpose yards (1,510) and finishing in the top five in the G-MAC in receiving yards (598) and touchdowns as well. Ruddy, a 2024 All-American return man, accomplished an extremely rare feat in 2025 as the only NCAA DII player in the country to finish the year with a passing, rushing, receiving and kickoff return touchdown in the same season.

Joining Ruddy in bringing home hardware was freshman tailback Ben Ngishu, who was named the G-MAC's Freshman of the Year while also earning first team All-G-MAC honors. Ngishu finished fourth in the G-MAC in rushing yards in 2025 with 716 and four rushing touchdowns, averaging five yards per carry. He was the only player in 2025 to surpass 100 rushing yards against G-MAC Co-Champion Ashland's top-ranked scoring defense, finishing with a season-high 142 yards on 20 carries against the Eagles in an impressive performance.

Also winning a major award was Hillsdale College senior tight end Noah Larrick, who earned the G-MAC's Elite 26 award for having the highest GPA of any player in the conference. A 4.0 student in contention for Valedictorian honors at Hillsdale, and a biology major who plans to attend medical school to become a doctor next fall, Larrick also played in 10 games this fall on offense and special teams for the Chargers.

As a team, Hillsdale also received the inaugural Sportsmanship Award from the G-MAC, for displaying the highest level of character on the gridiron as voted on by the league's other coaches. By receiving the award, Hillsdale's football team also puts the Chargers in the running for the all-sport G-MAC Sportsmanship award handed out at the end of the school year if other teams can duplicate the football team's feat.

Along with Ruddy and Ngishu, four other Chargers earned first team All-G-MAC honors. Senior Carter Cushman was named to the team after finishing his fourth year as a starter at right tackle for the Chargers, serving as a team captain and helping to spearhead a unit that carved out a path for the third-best offense in the G-MAC in terms of yardage per game.

Also earning All-G-MAC honors for the second-straight season was tight end Andrew Konieczny, who was a second teamer in 2024 but made the first team in 2025. Konieczny overcame a mid-season injury that cost him two games to set a new career-high for receiving touchdowns with four and more or less match his 11 game totals as a freshman in every other receiving stat despite the time missed.

On the defensive side of the ball, another Hillsdale team captain was named a first-team All-G-MAC honoree for the second straight season. Junior Jacob Vance received the distinction, along with Team MVP and his third-straight Hillsdale Linebacker of the Year award, thanks in part to a team-leading and career high 64 tackles, along with three sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and an interception return for a touchdown against Tiffin.

He's joined on the first team by defensive end Drake Badger, who finished with 10 sacks, the most by a Hillsdale player since 2009, to earn first team All-G-MAC honors for the first time. Badger ranked fourth among G-MAC players in sacks in 2025 and tied for third in tackles for loss with 14.5 to lead the Chargers in both categories, while also creating two forced fumbles.

In addition to six first team honorees, two Chargers also earned second team All-G-MAC honors. Sophomore wide receiver Tutt Carrico received the distinction after a breakout season where he led Hillsdale and finished third in the G-MAC with seven receiving touchdowns, while also ranking in the top 10 in the G-MAC with 580 receiving yards. 

He's joined on the second team by senior offensive lineman Ryan Strasser, who received his first All-G-MAC honor after starting all season at left guard for the Chargers in a strong performance in his final campaign in the blue and white.

Hillsdale has one more game before it puts the 2025 season to rest, as the Chargers face off against Upper Iowa in the Albanese Candy Bowl at 2 PM ET on Saturday, Dec. 6 in Hobart, Indiana.