News/Commentary

Defending Pioneer Football League Champion Drake Picked to Repeat

July 31, 2024 by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations Director

ST. LOUIS – Drake University, the defending Pioneer Football League champion, is picked to win the 2024 championship, as selected in the league’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released Tuesday and voted upon by the league’s head coaches.

(Original article: Defending Pioneer Football League Champion Drake Picked to Repeat)

Drake received eight of the 11 first-place votes from the league’s coaches and 98 of the maximum 100 points available, with coaches unable to vote for their own teams.

St. Thomas, the 2022 PFL Champion, followed Drake in the poll with 87 points, including one first-place vote. Davidson also received a first-place vote and totaled 81 points to finish third in the poll.

Butler (72 points) and San Diego (67) were picked to finish fourth and fifth, with San Diego receiving a first-place vote. The pair rounded out a group of teams that are the clear front-runners entering the season.

Dayton, with 49 points, opens the second half of the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Flyers are followed by a trio of tightly packed teams: Presbyterian (39 points), Marist (37), and Morehead State (35). Valparaiso (22) and Stetson (18) round out the 11-team poll.

The upcoming 2024 season marks the 32nd year of the Pioneer Football League. The league will feature 11 teams, each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.

The 2024 schedule gets underway Thursday, August 29, with a four-game slate followed by the league’s remaining seven teams on Sat., August 31. The 2024 PFL Championship race gets underway with a four-game slate on Sat., Sept. 28.

Preseason Poll

Pos. Team (1st-place votes Points
1 Drake (8) 98
2. St. Thomas (1) 87
3. Davidson (1) 81
4. Butler 72
5. San Diego (1) 67
6. Dayton 49
7. Presbyterian 39
8. Marist 37
9. Morehead State 35
10. Valparaiso 22
11. Stetson 18

2024 Preseason All-PFL Team

The Pioneer Football League named 30 student-athletes to its Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team Wednesday, July 31, including 15 returning First Team All-PFL selections.

Returning players named to the league’s 2023 All-PFL Teams were automatically placed on the 2023 Preseason All-PFL team in order of head coaches’ voting.

Four of the PFL’s five major award winners from 2023 return for the 2024 season, led by Drake linebacker Finn Claypool, the reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Year; teammate Shane Dunning, the reigning PFL Special Teams Player of the Year, joins him as a preseason honoree at both a placekicker and punter. Stetson swept last season’s freshmen honors, and both student-athletes return, with linebacker Andrew Martin earning a Preseason All-PFL nod.  

Defending PFL Champion Drake saw a league-leading six players earn seven Preseason All-PFL selections, led by Claypool and Dunning. Teammates joining them on the preseason team are wide receiver Mitchell January, quarterback Luke Bailey, offensive lineman Ross Palmer, and long snapper Brett Welsing.

Davidson had four student-athletes named to the preseason squad. Butler, Morehead State, Presbyterian, and San Diego each had three selections. Dayton and St. Thomas each picked up two preseason picks, while Marist, Stetson, and Valparaiso claimed one preseason honoree.

Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown
OFFENSE
WR Mitchell January (2) Drake 6-1 182 Jr. Richfield, Minn.
WR Dominic Kibby (1) Presbyterian 6-1 175 Jr. Catonsville, Md.
WR Ryan Upp (1) Morehead State 5-10 175 Sr. Leesburg, Va.
QB Luke Bailey (2) Drake 6-2 190 Gr. Lemont, Ill.
RB Mari Adams (2) Davidson 5-10 210 Jr. Shelby, N.C.
RB Hope Adebayo (2) St. Thomas 5-8 216 Sr. St. Paul, Minn.
FB Joey Suchy (1) Butler 6-0 224 Jr. Mayfield Heights, Ohio
AP Ryan Upp (2) Morehead State 5-10 175 Sr. Leesburg, Va.
TE Worth Warner (1) Presbyterian 6-4 215 5th Raleigh, N.C.
OL Dylan DeMaison (1) Dayton 6-2 296 RSr. Cincinnati, Ohio
OL Adam Dolan (1) Butler 6-8 310 RJr. Clarkston, Mich.
OL Malik McDaniel (2) Davidson 6-1 295 Sr. Bartlett, Tenn.
OL Ross Palmer (1) Drake 6-6 387 Gr. Waukee, Iowa
OL Alec Rasmussen (1) St. Thomas 6-7 307 Sr. Wayzata, Minn.
DEFENSE
DL Finn Claypool (1, DPotY) Drake 6-1 232 RJr Des Moines, Iowa
DL Malachi Cooper (2) San Diego 6-4 260 Sr. San Diego, Calif.
DL Sam Hafner (1) Valparaiso 6-2 260 RSr. Green Bay, Wis.
DL Julian Rawlins (1) Davidson 6-2 225 Sr. Huntersville, N.C.
LB Alex Herriott (1) Presbyterian 5-11 210 Sr. Hanahan, S.C.
LB Chase Lyons (H) San Diego 6-4 224 Gr. Aurora, Colo.
LB Andrew Martin (H) Stetson 6-1 221 So. McDonough, Ga.
LB Aiden McKinley (H) Dayton 6-2 221 RJr. Louisville, Ky.
DB Nick Bafia (1) Butler 6-1 190 Sr. Naperville, Ill.
DB Daniel Carter (2) Davidson 6-2 210 Sr. Denver, N.C.
DB Eric Haney (1) San Diego 5-10 180 Gr. Peoria, Ariz.
DB Jihad McCall (2) Morehead State 6-1 190 RSr. Jersey City, N.J.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Shane Dunning (1) Drake 6-0 212 Gr. Muskego, Wis.
P Shane Dunning (2) Drake 6-0 212 Gr. Reston, Va.
RS Tristan Shannon (H) Marist 5-7 183 5th Bowie, Md.
LS Brett Welsing (2) Drake 6-3 233 Jr. De Pere, Wis.
Symbols in parentheses: (1) was a First Team All-PFL selection in 2023; (2) was a Second Team All-PFL selection in 2023; (H) was an Honorable Mention All-PFL selection in 2023.

About the Pioneer Football League

The Pioneer Football League is the only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The PFL is a truly national conference with members on each coast and throughout the nation’s heartland. Butler University, the University of Dayton, Drake University, and Valparaiso University were among the league’s founding members in 1993, with Davidson College, Marist College, Morehead State University, Presbyterian College, the University of San Diego, the University of St. Thomas, and Stetson University joining to form the current 11-team league.