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Football

Shrewsbury named FCS Football Central Preseason All-American

LEXINGTON, Va. – The buildup for the 2026 VMI Football season continues for VMI senior punter Ben Shrewsbury as he was named a Preseason All-American by FCS Football Central on SI (Sports Illustrated) Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Jonesborough, Tennessee, native was selected as a First Team All-American punter by the publication a week after receiving the same distinction by Stats Perform.

After a standout 2025 junior season, Shrewsbury was named a Stats Perform FCS All-American, an Augusta Sports FCS Punter of the Year Semifinalist, and an All-SoCon First Team Specialists honoree as one of the nation's top punters.

Shrewsbury punted 87 times for a total of 4,075 yards, ranking in the top five nationally in punt average. Shrewsbury would end the season with a punt average of 47.9 yards, ranking third at the FCS level.

Shrewsbury's 4,075 yards was a Southern Conference record, booting 42 kicks 50 or more yards including a career best 63-yard punt at ETSU.

To view the full FCS Football Central press release, click here.

#RahVaMil
 
FCS Football Central on SI 2026 Preseason All-America Teams
First-Team Offense
QB - Beau Brungard (Youngstown State)
QB - Justin Lamson (Montana State)
RB - Eli Gillman (Montana)
RB - Adam Jones (Montana State)
RB - Luke Yoder (Lehigh)
WR - Marquis Buchanan (Rhode Island)
WR - Samuel Gbatu Jr. (UC Davis)
WR - Taco Dowler (Montana State)
TE - Ryder Kurtz (Cornell)
OL - Desmeal Leigh (Youngstown State)
OL - Erik Gray (Stephen F. Austin)
OL - Landon Woodard (Illinois State)
OL - Joshua Sales Jr. (Austin Peay)
OL - Titan Fleischmann (Montana State)
OL - Quinten Christensen (South Dakota State)
 
First-Team Defense 
DL - Joshua Stoneking (Furman)
DL - Lance Rucker (North Dakota)
DL - Michael Wells (Youngstown State)
DL - Camden Byrd (Richmond)
DL - Andrew Huff (Lamar)
LB - Tye Niekamp (Illinois State)
LB - Peyton Wing (Montana)
LB - Porter Connors (UC Davis)
LB - Rohan Davy (Rhode Island)
LB - Mikey D'Amato (Cal Poly)
LB - Jake Dalmado (Southeastern Louisiana)
DB - Abu Kamara (Yale)
DB - Caden Dowler (Montana State)
DB - Rex Connors (UC Davis)
DB - Damien Henderson (Harvard)
DB - Christopher Jean (Central Connecticut State)
DB - Ken Moore Jr. (Western Carolina)
DB - Dylan Rowsey (Murray State)
 
First-Team Special Teams 
K - Luke Barnes (Elon)
P - Ben Shrewsbury (VMI)
KR - DeAndre Buchannon (Tarleton State)
PR - Bugs Mortimer (Stephen F. Austin)
AP - Ja'briel Mace (Villanova)
 
Second-Team Offense 
QB - Keali'i Ah Yat (Montana)
QB - Devin Farrell (Rhode Island)
QB - Chris Parson (Austin Peay)
RB - Charles Pierre Jr. (South Dakota)
RB - Victor Dawson (Illinois State)
RB - Jordan Fisher (UC Davis)
WR - Sam Milligan (Bucknell)
WR - BJ Fleming (Tarleton State)
WR - Lofton O'Groske (South Dakota State)
WR - Brooks Davis (Montana)
WR - Chedon James (Idaho State)
TE - Winston Williams (UC Davis)
OL - Thomas O'Brien (Harvard)
OL - Stryker Rashid (Idaho State)
OL - Tre Alexander (Rhode Island)
OL - Aidan Palmer (Lehigh)
OL - Liam Becher (North Dakota)
OL - Braden Zimmer (Montana State)
OL - Cam Nolan (Holy Cross)
AP - MJ Flowers (Tennessee Tech)
 
Second-Team Defense: 
DL - Kaden Vig (North Dakota)
DL - Zac Crews (Montana State)
DL - Dawson Ripperda (South Dakota State)
DL - Chris Dixon (South Dakota)
DL - Logan Green (South Dakota State)
DL - Ike Odimegwu (Brown)
LB - Cole Taylor (Montana State)
LB - Cullen McShane (South Dakota State)
LB - Dexter Niekamp (Illinois State)
LB - Jordan Franklin (South Carolina State)
LB - Eli Ennis (Stephen F. Austin)
LB - Sean Line (Harvard)
DB - Tayden Gray (Montana State)
DB - Eric Zachery (Prairie View A&M)
DB - Jaylon Jenkins (Eastern Washington)
DB - Drew Cofield (UC Davis)
DB - Dev Holman (Youngstown State)
DB - Kam Sallis (Jackson State)
DB - Dillon Williams (Abilene Christian)
 
Second-Team Special Teams 
K - Myles Sansted (Montana State)
P - Max Pelham (South Dakota State)
KR - Nehemiah Hixon (Alabama State)
PR - Elijah Kennedy (North Carolina A&T)
AP - Brayden Smith (Mercer)
AP - TJ Cadden (Bucknell)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Ben Shrewsbury

#99 Ben Shrewsbury

K/P
6' 2"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Ben Shrewsbury

#99 Ben Shrewsbury

6' 2"
Senior
K/P