Shimek Garners D2CCA Super Region Defensive Player Of The Year Award

Continuing a postseason run of honors, Ashland University senior defensive end Michael Shimek was named the 2025 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday (Dec. 4) afternoon.
 
Shimek, who also was a 2025 Harlon Hill Trophy (NCAA Division II's Player of the Year) candidate, Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference, finished the fall with 17½ sacks, 18½ tackles for loss, 60 total tackles (32 solo), three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.
 
His sack total is fourth-best in program history, trailing only three seasons by College Football Hall of Famer Bill Royce (20½ in 1993, 20 in 1992 and 18½ in 1991), and his tackles for loss number is second in AU football annals to just James Prater Jr.'s 23½ in 2017.
 
Shimek also is an all-super region first-teamer, along with sophomore right tackle Nico Traczyk and redshirt freshman kicker Manaki Watanabe.
 
Traczyk, the 2025 Great Midwest Offensive Lineman of the Year and first-team selection, paced an Eagle offensive line which helped Ashland to average 27.4 points and 346.2 yards per game this past season.
 
Watanabe, a semifinalist for the Fred Mitchell Award and first-team all-league pick, was 21-for-22 on field goals and 39-for-40 on extra points in 2025. His field goals are a school record for a single season, and his 102 points scored are tied for fourth-most in program history.
 
Ashland football finished the 2025 campaign at 10-3 overall and 8-1 in the Great Midwest – winning an NCAA Division II playoff game for the second season in a row for the first time, and earning a co-conference championship.
  Michael Shimek, 2025
  Nico Traczyk, 2025 (first-team)
Michael Shimek, 2025 (first-team)
Manaki Watanabe, 2025 (first-team)
Jeffrey Barnett, 2024 (second-team)
Nehemiah Cannon, 2023 (first-team)
Jackson Myers, 2023 (second-team)
Michael Ayers, 2022 (first-team), 2021 (first-team)
Gavin Posey, 2022 (first-team)
James Prater Jr., 2018 (first-team), 2017 (second-team)
Clay Shreve, 2018 (second-team)
Dominic Giunta, 2017 (first-team)
Travis Tarnowski, 2017 (first-team)
Adam Shaheen, 2016 (first-team), 2015 (second-team)
Zachary Douglass, 2016 (second-team), 2015 (second-team)
Brandon Gency, 2016 (second-team), 2015 (second-team)
Vance Settlemire, 2015 (second-team)
James Triplett, 2014 (second-team)