Shimek, Watanabe Named Finalists For Postseason Awards

Two 2025 Ashland University football standouts have been named finalists for top postseason awards.
 
Senior defensive end Michael Shimek is a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award (NCAA Division II senior lineman of the year), and redshirt freshman kicker Manaki Watanabe is a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award (nation's most outstanding non-FBS kicker).
 
Shimek is one of eight finalists for the Gene Upshaw Award. The 2025 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year, first-team D2CCA all-super region, 2025 Harlon Hill Trophy (NCAA Division II's Player of the Year) candidate, Great Midwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference, Shimek 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.
 
Watanabe is one of 10 finalists for the Fred Mitchell Award. Also a first-team D2CCA all-super region and first-team All-Great Midwest selection, he was 21-for-22 on field goals and 39-for-40 on extra points in 2025. He leads D-II in field-goal percentage at 95.5, and in field goals made.

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 season 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.