LANCASTER, Pa. – Two-time defending champion Johns Hopkins has been chosen as the favorite to hoist the conference trophy once again in the 2025 Centennial Conference Football Preseason Poll. The Blue Jays were one of three teams to receive at least one first-place vote, collecting six first-place nods and 48 points to seize the top position in a vote among CC head coaches.
Conference newcomer Carnegie Mellon was projected to finish second with 42 points and one first-place vote. Ursinus was picked third with 33 points, just ahead of Franklin & Marshall (32), which received the remaining first-place tally. Muhlenberg (30) was close behind in fifth, followed by Dickinson (18), Gettysburg (13) and McDaniel (8).
The 2025 season opens up on Thursday, Sept. 4 with F&M traveling to Lebanon Valley for a non-conference road contest. Dickinson, Gettysburg, McDaniel, Muhlenberg and Ursinus will play under the lights on Friday, Sept. 5, while Carnegie Mellon and Hopkins will embark on out-of-state road trips for openers on Saturday, Sept. 6 Conference play commences on Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 following the conference-wide bye week. The final day of the regular season is set for Saturday, Nov. 15, with the NCAA playoffs and the annual Centennial-MAC Bowl Series scheduled for the following weekend.
2025 Centennial Conference Football Preseason Poll
| Rank | Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Johns Hopkins (6) |
48 |
| 2. Carnegie Mellon (1) |
42 |
| 3. Ursinus |
33 |
| 4. Franklin & Marshall (1) |
32 |
| 5. Muhlenberg |
30 |
| 6. Dickinson |
18 |
| 7. Gettysburg |
13 |
| 8. McDaniel |
8 |
2025 Schedule |
2024 All-Centennial Team |
History & Records |
D3football.com Rankings |
AFCA Rankings
The 2025 season marks are new era for Centennial Conference football with the addition of Carnegie Mellon as an associate member. The newfound football partnership with the Tartans will raise the number of conference teams to eight, marking the first time since 2000 that the CC will have exactly eight teams in the conference standings.
The Centennial Conference was founded in the early 1980s around football, with eight institutions - Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins, McDaniel (then Western Maryland) Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, and Ursinus - forming a football-only conference that began play in 1983. The conference consisted of eight football teams through the year 2000, before Swarthmore dropped the program from its sport offerings. Previously members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, Carnegie Mellon will be the fourth institution to join the CC as an associate member. Juniata and Moravian were associate members from 2007-2022 while Susquehanna competed in the CC from 2010-2022.
This season will also be the second year of the NCAA's recently-expanded tournament field, which now features 40 teams as opposed to the previous bracket of 32. The CC sent multiple teams to the NCAA postseason again last season, which marked the fifth time in conference history that has occurred (also in 1999-2014-2018-2021).
Hopkins claimed its second straight Centennial championship last spring with a perfect 6-0 record against league opponents. After receiving an opening round bye, the Blue Jays proceeded to go on an impressive run in the NCAA Tournament, holding their first three opponents to an average of just 11 points per game with victories over Grove City (17-14 in 2nd round), DePauw (14-9 in 3rd round), and Mary Hardin-Baylor (17-10 in quarterfinals). The postseason run came to an end against Mount Union in the semifinals, with the Purple Raiders outlasting Hopkins in a shootout, 45-37. The semifinal trip marked the third time in CC history that a conference team reached the tournament's final four teams, with Hopkins (2018) and Muhlenberg (2019) also previously reaching the semifinals.
Ursinus also represented the CC in the NCAA Tournament, which marked the first trip to the national tournament for the Bears since 1999 and the third in program history. The Bears earned an at-large bid and traveled to King's (Pa.) for a first round matchup, falling 32-29.
Muhlenberg, F&M and Dickinson qualified for the ninth annual Centennial-MAC Bowl Series. The Mules and Diplomats came away victorious, pushing the CC's overall record to 18-6 in the series, which includes a stellar 16-2 mark over the past six seasons. Muhlenberg defeated Widener 34-7, F&M shut out Delaware Valley 7-0, and Dickinson fell to FDU-Florham 49-14.
A trio of All-Americans, five All-Region honorees and 36 players with All-Conference laurels to their names will compete in the CC this fall. Two-time D3football.com All-American
Michael Nwosu, a senior offensive lineman for Johns Hopkins, headlines the list of returners to the conference. Nwosu has been a pillar of the Blue Jay offensive line for the past three seasons as a two-time fourth team All-American, two-time first team All-Region and three-time All-Centennial pick. Hopkins senior defensive back
Carson Bourdo is the other returning All-American in the CC after receiving first team honors from the Associated Press and second team honors from D3football.com last fall.
JHU's quartet of Nwosu, Bourdo, graduate student quarterback
Bay Harvey and senior offensive lineman
Garrett Brophy boast All-Region accolades to their names, as does Carnegie Mellon graduate student defensive end
Mitchell Stokey.
Twelve returning players have earned all-conference recognition at least twice throughout their careers, including two - Nwosu and Stokey - who have collected conference all-star nods three times. Other multi-time all-conference performers include Carnegie Mellon's Caputo and senior running back
Willem Bouma, F&M senior wide receiver
Gary Lewis and senior defensive back
Matt Wertz, JHU senior defensive lineman
Isaac Urquidi, Bourdo, junior wide receiver
Cole Crotty, and Ursinus senior defensive back
Anthony Esposito, senior kicker/punter
Jordan Carr, and senior offensive lineman
Deane Leader.
Four CC players have been named to the D3football.com Preseason All-America team. Nwosu and Bourdo were selected to the first team along with Carnegie Mellon senior kicker
Justin Caputo, while JHU sophomore kicker
Brad Paxton, the 2024 CC Rookie of the Year, earned second team recognition.
Johns Hopkins is ranked third while Carnegie Mellon is 18th in both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) preseason national polls.
Returning All-Americans (3)
Michael Nwosu, Johns Hopkins, Sr., OL
- 2024: D3football.com Fourth Team
- 2023: D3football.com Fourth Team
Carson Bourdo, Johns Hopkins, Sr., DB
- 2024: Associated Press First Team, D3football.com Second Team
Returning All-Region (5)
Mitchell Stokey, Carnegie Mellon, Gr., DE (2024 Third Team)
Michael Nwosu, Johns Hopkins, Sr., OL (2024 First Team, 2023 First Team)
Carson Bourdo, Johns Hopkins, Sr., DB (2024 First Team)
Bay Harvey, Johns Hopkins, Gr., QB (2023 Third Team)
Garrett Brophy, Johns Hopkins, Sr., OL (2022 Second Team)
Returning All-Conference (36)
*Honors for Carnegie Mellon are from Presidents' Athletic Conference
Mitchell Stokey, Carnegie Mellon, Gr., DE (2024 First Team, 2023 First Team, 2022 Second Team)
Justin Caputo, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., K (2024 First Team, 2023 First Team)
Charlie Katarincic, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., OL (2024 Second Team)
DJ Johnson, Carnegie Mellon, Jr., KR (2024 Second Team)
Reece Kolke, Carnegie Mellon, Jr., WR (2024 Honorable Mention)
Brendan McCullough, Carnegie Mellon, Jr., WR (2024 Honorable Mention)
Willem Bouma, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., RB (2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 Second Team)
Sam Alligood, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., OL (2023 First Team)
Danny Moynihan, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., TE (2023 Honorable Mention)
Bram Leys, Dickinson, Sr., LB (2023 Second Team)
Gary Lewis, Franklin & Marshall, Sr., WR (2024 Second Team, 2023 First Team)
Matt Wertz, Franklin & Marshall, Sr., DB (2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 Second Team)
Aidan Toomey, Franklin & Marshall, Jr., OL (2024 Second Team)
Quincy Long, Franklin & Marshall, Jr., DL (2024 Second Team)
Connor HIlle, Franklin & Marshall, Jr., LB (2024 Honorable Mention)
Michael Zrelak, Gettysburg, Sr., RB (2024 First Team)
Michael Nwosu, Johns Hopkins, Sr., OL (2024 First Team, 2023 First Team, 2022 Second Team)
Isaac Urquidi, Johns Hopkins, Sr., DL (2024 First Team, 2023 Second Team)
Carson Bourdo, Johns Hopkins, Sr., DB (2024 First Team, 2023 Honorable Mention)
Cole Crotty, Johns Hopkins, Jr., WR (2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 First Team)
Brad Paxton, Johns Hopkins, So., PK (2024 First Team)
Geoff Schroeder, Johns Hopkins, Sr., RB (2024 Second Team)
Will Seibert, Johns Hopkins, Jr., DL (2024 Second Team)
Charlie Pearson, Johns Hopkins, Sr., OL (2024 Honorable Mention)
Bay Harvey, Johns Hopkins, Gr., QB (2023 Second Team)
Damonte Gifford, McDaniel, Sr., DL (2024 Honorable Mention)
Taevon LeGrande, McDaniel, So., LB (2024 Honorable Mention)
Christopher Short, Muhlenberg, Jr., KR (2024 First Team)
Amari Dunn, Muhlenberg, Sr., RB (2024 Second Team)
Peyton Elliott, Muhlenberg, Sr., LB (2024 Second Team)
Anthony Esposito, Ursinus, Sr., DB (2023 First Team, 2022 Honorable Mention)
Jordan Carr, Ursinus, Sr., K/P (2024 First Team, 2023 Second Team)
Deane Leader, Ursinus, Sr., OL (2024 Second Team, 2023 Honorable Mention)
Aaron Rios, Ursinus, Sr., DL (2024 Second Team)
Sean Spinosa, Ursinus, Sr., DL (2024 Second Team)
Cody House, Ursinus, Sr., KR (2023 Honorable Mention)
