TAMUC- Sports

 

Kristov Martinez named First Team AFCA All-American.

WACO – Texas A&M University-Commerce kicker Kristov Martinez has been named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches’ Association, as announced Wednesday.

The senior kicker finished his Lion career as NCAA Division II’s all-time leading kick scorer with 449 points. This places fourth in scoring among all college players in the state of Texas. The LSC’s all-time leading scorer earns All-American honors for the second time, elevating to the first team for the first time. He was a Don Hansen’s third team All-American in 2017.

He was 21-of-26 on field goals with a career-long of 55 yards in the regional semifinal at Tarleton. He also made all 48 PAT attempts on the season and ended his career with a streak of 103 PATs made in a row. He was also fantastic in the kickoff phase, as the Lions finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in kickoff coverage.

Martinez’ selection to the AFCA All-American team extends A&M-Commerce’s streak of six straight years with an AFCA All-American. This is the longest active streak in the nation.

All-time, the Lions rank second in Division II with 23 AFCA All-American selections.

2018 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America – First Team

Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
QB	Jayru Campbell	6-5	215	Jr.	Ferris St. (Mich.)
RB	Jaleel McLaughlin	5-9	173	Fr.	Notre Dame (Ohio)
RB	Gabriel Watson	6-1	221	Jr.	Sioux Falls (S.D.)
WR	Craig Rucker	5-7	165	Jr.	Mars Hill (N.C.)
WR	Trey Brock	6-3	218	Sr.	Hillsdale (Mich.)
TE	Erik Henneman	6-3	228	Jr.	Lindenwood (Mo.)
OL	Derrick Puni	6-6	320	R-Sr.	Central Missouri
OL	Bryce Bray	6-0	260	Sr.	Harding (Ark.)
OL	James Moore	6-5	300	Sr.	Central Washington
OL	Travis Romsa	6-4	300	R-Sr.	Chadron St. (Neb.)
OL	Donald Boone	6-5	310	Jr.	Chowan (N.C.)
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
DL	Markus Jones	6-3	260	Sr.	Angelo St. (Texas)
DL	Austen Eskew	6-4	248	Sr.	Northwest Missouri St.
DL	Michael Wristen	6-4	245	Sr.	Colorado St.-Pueblo
DL	Chris Garrett	6-4	230	So.	Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.)
LB	J.T. Hassell	6-0	199	Sr.	Florida Tech
LB	Austin Stephens	5-11	210	Jr.	Miles (Ala.)
LB	Tyler Morrissey	6-3	256	R-Sr.	West Chester (Pa.)
DB	Lamont McPhatter II	5-11	190	Jr.	California (Pa.)
DB	Joshua Simmons	6-3	205	Gr.	Limestone (S.C.)
DB	Gunner Olszewski	5-10	180	Sr.	Bemidji St. (Minn.)
DB	Brian Williams	6-1	190	R-Sr.	Davenport (Mich.)
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
PK	Kristov Martinez	5-6	135	Sr.	A&M-COMMERCE
P	Josh Carlson	6-0	165	Fr.	Dixie St. (Utah)
AP	Lyrics Klugh	5-10	170	Sr.	Fairmont St. (W.Va.)

2018 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America – Second Team

Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
QB	Layton Rabb	6-5	225	Sr.	MSU Texas
RB	Marcus Jones	5-11	225	Sr.	Gannon (Pa.)
RB	Devontae Jackson	5-7	176	Sr.	West Georgia
WR	Chad Hovasse	6-1	215	R-Sr.	Adams St. (Colo.)
WR	Shane Zylstra	6-5	220	Jr.	Minnesota St.
TE	Jalen Jackson	6-0	215	So.	Lock Haven (Pa.)
OL	Craig McCorkle	6-5	290	Jr.	California (Pa.)
OL	Devon Johnson	6-7	310	Sr.	Ferris St. (Mich.)
OL	Steve Gaviglia	6-3	285	R-Sr.	Slippery Rock (Pa.)
OL	Matt Juneau	6-5	290	Sr.	Minnesota-Duluth
OL	Justin Gooseberry	6-4	250	Sr.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
DL	Davondrick Lison	6-2	235	R-Sr.	Southern Arkansas
DL	T.J. Winslow	6-4	250	Sr.	Harding (Ark.)
DL	Cardell Rawlings	6-2	240	R-Sr.	Wingate (N.C.)
DL	James Prater Jr.	6-0	244	Sr.	Ashland (Ohio)
LB	Dominic Cizauskas	6-2	260	Jr.	Glenville St. (W.Va.)
LB	Aaron Berry	6-2	225	Sr.	Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
LB	Cody Leonard	6-1	225	Sr.	Quincy (Ill.)
DB	Traviontae Brown	6-0	170	Jr.	Benedict (S.C.)
DB	Corey Ballentine	6-0	204	Sr.	Washburn (Kan.)
DB	O’Shay Harris	6-1	190	Jr.	Central Oklahoma
DB	Jarey Elder	5-11	170	Jr.	West Chester (Pa.)
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
PK	Cole Antley	6-0	190	Sr.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
P	Isaac Parks	6-0	210	R-So.	North Carolina-Pembroke
AP	Deonte Harris	5-6	170	Sr.	Assumption (Mass.)

Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensives) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second-team All-America.

Selection Process: The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the teams are chosen.