ST. LOUIS – Illinois State standouts Tye Niekamp and Luke Mailander headlined a list of 12 Redbirds selected as 2025 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selections on Monday in the annual vote conducted by the league's head coaches, media members and sports information directors.
Niekamp was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year, while Mailander was named the MVFC Freshman of the Year in the annual vote. Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, offensive lineman Jake Pope and defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II earned First-Team All-MVFC honors alongside Niekamp, while running back Wenkers Wright, fullback Scotty Presson Jr., offensive lineman Landon Woodard, safety La'Shavion Brown and longsnapper Dylan Calabrese each earned Second-Team All-MVFC honors. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, tight end Javon Charles and defensive tackle Jake Anderson were also honored as All-MVFC Honorable Mention selections to round out the list of Redbird honorees.
Niekamp becomes the first Redbird defender named the league's Defensive Player of the Year since 2022, when outside linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh won the honor on way to being named the Buck Buchanan Award recipient. It marks the ninth time in Valley Football history a Redbird has been named the Defensive Player of the Year: Â LB Brian Gant (1986), LB Boomer Grigsby (2002-04), DE Brent Hawkins (2005), LB Cameron Siskowic (2006) and LB Zeke Vandenburgh (2022). Niekamp is also a finalist for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the top defensive player in FCS football.
Now a two-time All-MVFC First Team selection, Niekamp adds this year's honor to his First-Team selection in 2024 and his 2023 MVFC Freshman of the Year and Second Team honors. The Normal, Illinois, native led the Redbirds and ranked third in the MVFC in tackles with 126 (63 solo) during the regular season. He also ranked second in the league in tackles-for-loss with 12.0 and added one sack on the year. A three-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Week during the year, Niekamp had seven double-digit tackling efforts, including five games with 13 or more, finished the regular season with back-to-back 16 tackle efforts against South Dakota State and Southern Illinois. Last week in the first-round playoff win at Southeastern Louisiana, Niekamp led the Redbirds with 13 tackles, a sack and an interception in the win over the Lions.
Mailander, a redshirt freshman wide receiver out of Elmhurst, Illinois, is the fifth Redbird freshman to be named the league's Freshman of the Year: QB Dusty Burk (1999), DB Tom Nelson (2005), QB Matt Brown (2009) and teammate Niekamp (2023). During the regular season, Mailander ranked second for Illinois State in yards (557) and third in receptions (34). With seven games of 50 or more receiving yards, he averaged 16.4 yards per catch and was second on the team with four receiving touchdowns. Â Mailander scored a touchdown in three-straight wins against Morehead State, Eastern Illinois and North Alabama, and he tallied a career-high 109 yards a touchdown in the win over the Panthers.Â
Sobkowicz earns his third All-MVFC honor and makes his initial appearance on the First Team, after being picked as a Second Team selection in 2023 and 2024. The Arlington Heights, Illinois, native led ISU in receptions (49), yards (686) and receiving touchdowns (11) during the regular season and his 11 touchdowns tied for first in the MVFC and No. 4 in the FCS. He averaged 14.0 yards per reception and had a pair of 100-plus yard receiving performances, including a season-best 162 yards in a win at Murray State. Sobkowicz caught multiple touchdowns in three contests, with a career-best three in a win at South Dakota State and rushed for a touchdown against Murray State.Â
Pope's All-MVFC First Team selection is the first for the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, native. A three-year starter on the offensive line for the Redbirds, Pope has somehow saved his best football for his collegiate season. He was a key member of the offensive line unit that helped the Redbirds rush for 164.5 yards per game on the ground and score 32.7 points per game, which ranked in the top 30 in the FCS during the regular season. The Redbirds also ranked fifth in the league in total offense at 374.8 yards per game and Pope was the leader of the protection team that helped the Redbirds rank in the top 15 in the country in fewest sacks allowed. A two-time MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week selection during the regular season, Pope started in all 12 games for ISU moving from right tackle to start the final games of the season at left tackle.
Nkuba II made an immediate impact for the Redbird defense in his first season with the Redbirds after transferring from Louisiana and rounds out the ISU All-MVFC First Team honorees. The Lewisville, Texas, native led the Valley and the team in interceptions with four during the regular season and ranked third on the team with 67 tackles, including 40 solo stops. Nkuba was also credited with a sack, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and five pass breakups and he recorded an interception in four-straight games to start the year. He earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors, after recording a season-best 10 tackles with a sack and 1.5 tackles-for-loss in a double overtime win over North Alabama and tallied six games with six tackles or more. Last Saturday in the first-round playoff win at Southeastern Louisiana, Nkuba picked off his fifth interception of the season to help the Redbird defensive rack up four interceptions in the win over the Lions.Â
The quintet of All-MVFC Second Team honorees was led by Wright, who ranked second on the team in rushing yards (529) and rushing touchdowns (5) and averaged 5.0 yards per carry during the regular season. Opening holes for Wright was his fullback Presson, who helped lead the way for the Redbird rushing attack that averaged 164.5 yards per game on the ground and who caught 16 passes for 154 yards on the year (9.6 per reception) and scored a pair of touchdowns in a win at South Dakota. Also helping pave the way for Wright was Woodard, who started all 12 games during the regular season at left guard. Brown was another impactful transfer for the Redbird defense, as he ranked second on the team with 70 tackles, including 36 solo stops, and was credited with four pass breakups, one tackle-for-loss and one interception on the year. Rounding out the All-MVFC Second-Team selections was Calabrese, who was not credited with a bad snap all year and was a key reason the Redbirds did not have a punt blocked all season.
The trio of Illinois State All-MVFC Honorable Mention selections was highlighted by Rittenhouse, who stood out in a league full of extremely talented quarterbacks in 2025. Rittenhouse completed 64.8 percent of his passes (219-for-338) for 2,345 yards with 28 touchdown passes, which ranked first in the MVFC fourth in the FCS in that category after the end of the regular season. He also led the team with six rushing touchdowns as well, with at least one in each of the last five games of the regular season. One of his favorite targets was Charles, who caught 15 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns on the year and was also a key member of the blocking unit that helped the Redbirds rush for 164.5 yards per game on the ground and score 32.7 points per game, which ranked in the top 30 in the FCS. Rounding out the Redbird Honorable Mention honorees was Anderson, who earned All-MVFC Second Team honors in 2024. Anderson finished the regular season with 43 tackles, including 14 solo stops, and added 1.5 sacks, 5.0 tackles-for-loss and three quarterback hurries on the year from his noseguard position.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference will continue to announce its end-of-year honors on Tuesday, when the league's All-Newcomer Team featuring Mailander will be announced.
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