NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State All-American linebacker Tye Niekamp has earned a spot among the best defenders in the FCS, as he was named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
The award, now in its 32nd season, is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past Buchanan recipients include Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and last year's winner Andrew Zock of Mercer. Illinois State linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh notably won the award in 2022, after several Redbirds including Boomer Grigsby, Brent Hawkins, Cameron Siskowic, Kye Stewart and Colton Underwood had been previous finalists for the honor.
Niekamp is one of five returning finalists from 2025 on this year's watch list, as he finished eighth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting following last season. He was a consensus First-Team All-American selection, earning honors from Stats Perform, FCS Football Central on SI, The Associated Press, the AFCA, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Phil Steele. The Normal, Illinois, native was one of 11 players named to the 13th annual 2025 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's (FCS ADA) All-America Team, as the top linebacker in the country.Â
The 2025 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year and All-MVFC First-Team selection, Niekamp led the FCS in total tackles with 160 on the season, and was credited with 3.5 sacks, 16.0 TFLs, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four quarterback hurries and a safety on the year. A three-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Week selection during the year, he had eight double-digit tackling efforts, including six games with 13 or more, and finished the regular season with back-to-back 16 tackle efforts against South Dakota State and Southern Illinois. He was credited with 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup and five tackles for the Redbirds in the FCS National Championship game against Montana State.
The Buck Buchanan Award was first presented in 1995. More players can join the watch list before a national media panel selects the winner after the regular season from a group of finalists. Stats Perform also presents the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), HBCU National Player of the Year and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
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