Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a historic season for the Wheeling University Football team (6-5, 5-3), finishing in a tie for third in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) for their highest team finish in program history. On Tuesday, the MEC released their annual All-MEC teams and the Cardinal Football program had a total of 12 players selected, with five of those either earning Player of the Year, First Team, or Second Team honors. Freshman linebacker Dylan Newman would earn the conference's Defensive Freshman of the Year award, while Jefferson Bretanys-Desca and Leonard Sherrod III earned First Team honors, and Angel Figueroa and Nikale Martin earned Second Team.
The 12 honorees were the most for the Cardinals since the 2021 spring season, when they had 15 players honored by the conference. The Cardinals started the year with a challenging non-conference schedule that saw them go 1-2 before hitting their MEC stretch. They would pick up a win in the final game of that stretch, taking down Lake Erie 35-31 and carrying that success into their conference opener. They would take down Fairmont State 35-28 and added a 40-14 Homecoming win over West Virginia Wesleyan to keep the momentum going. They dropped their first conference contest to Charleston, but hit their stride with wins over West Virginia State, Glenville State, and Concord down the stretch. It would come down to the final week of the regular season, with the Cardinals battling rival West Liberty, but they would fall in an offensive shootout 68-67 to end the season.
Dylan Newman burst onto the scene in his freshman season, taking home the MEC Defensive Freshman of the Year award. He finished as the Cardinal's fourth-leading tackler, finishing with 64.0 total tackles, 21 solo and 43 assisted, from the linebacker position. He was a force in the run game, leading the Cardinals with 10.5 tackles for loss and adding 3.0 sacks to become a force in the opposition's backfield. In the passing game, Newman added two pass break-ups and one quarterback hit to round out his strong season on the field. Newman appeared in every game for the Cardinals this season, but transitioned into a full-time starter's role in week three against LAke Erie. His biggest game would come in that first collegiate start, where he finished with eight total tackles, six solo and two assisted, while adding 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack in the effort. He is the first Player of the Year award winner in program history as he rounded out a strong freshman season.
Jefferson Bretanys-Desca kicks off the First Team honorees, winning his first award of his career. Desca came in as a junior transfer and led the Cardinal linebacking core throughout the season. He would break the Wheeling Football single-season tackle record with 114.0, finishing with 42 solo and 72 assisted. Like Newman, he was also a force in the run game, finishing with 5.5 tackles for loss and adding 1.5 sacks to his ledger. HE would contribute to two of the team's 12 interceptions in the passing game, and finished with four pass break-ups on the season. He would put together a season-best 14 total tackles against MEC-leading Frostburg State in week nine when he finished with four solo tackles and 10 assisted, while adding both 0.5 tackle for loss and 0.5 sack in the effort. He was the MEC's leading tackler while also leading the conference in assisted tackles with 72 and sitting tied for eighth with 42 solo tackles on the season.
Leonard Sherrod III was the other Cardinal to win First Team All-MEC honors, taking home the award for the first time in his career. Sherrod started his season with a bang, setting the single-game tackle record with 18.0 against Walsh in week two, and rode that momentum the rest of the season. He finished as the Cardinals third leading tackler, with 97.0 total tackles, and added 6.0 tackles for loss totaling 21 yards. In the passing game, Sherrod would put his name in the record books for a second time this season, breaking the single-season interception record with five. He would finish third on the team with 11 passes defended, finishing with six pass break-ups to go with five interceptions. He rounded out his stat line with two fumble recoveries and would get his name on the scoring list with a pick six to round out his season.
Moving on to the Second Team All-MEC honorees, graduate offensive lineman Angel Figueroa would take home his first All-MEC honor of his career. Figueroa has been the anchor of the Cardinal's offensive line over the last three years, serving as the team's starting center over each of the last four seasons. He started all 11 games for the Cardinals during the 2025 season and helped lead an offense that totaled 3,916 yards fo total offense and averaged just over 305 yards per game. Included in that was 1,417 yards on the ground, while averaging 133.7 yards per game during that time. When the offense got down to the redzone, Figueroa would help lead them to an 83.3% Redzone Offensive Efficiency, to rank third in the conference, while scoring the fourth most redzone touchdowns with 28.
The final Second Team All-MEC honoree was defensive lineman Nikale Martin, who is earning his first career All-Conference honor. Martin would set a new career-high with 25.0 total tackles, finishing with three solo and 22 assisted, while adding three quarterback hits on the season. Martin would disrupt opposing offenses from the middle of the defensive line, finishing with 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks on the year. He would be one of the leaders for the Cardinal's run defense that allowed the third fewest rushing yards in the MEC at 1,840. He would put together his top performance of the season against Frostburg State on October 25th, when he finished with seven tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in the effort.
The Wheeling University Football team added seven more honorees, with the final seven being named Honorable Mention. Stay tuned for our next release, highlighting all seven's accomplishments throughout the year.
