Springfield, Mass. – November 20, 2025 – After winning its fifth straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship title, 16 members of the Springfield College football team were recognized with All-Conference accolades from the NEWMAC.
The Pride also earned three major NEWMAC awards this season as Tyler Sordillo (Hull, Mass.) was named as the NEWMAC's Defensive Athlete of the Year, Tyler Paladino (Cross River, N.Y.) was named as the NEWMAC's Special Teams Athlete of the Year and Mike Cerasuolo and his staff took home NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year accolades. This marks Cerasuolo's fifth Coaching Staff of the Year award, while Sordillo and Paladino earned major awards for the first time in their careers.
Since 2017, Springfield football has earned Special Teams Athlete of the Year four times and Defensive Athlete of the Year five times. Most recently, Joe Maurer took home Special Teams Athlete of the Year in 2024, while Billy Carr was the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year also in 2024.
Along with Paladino and Sordillo, five other student-athletes earned NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honors including Craig Connell (Goshen, N.Y.), Stanford Davis (Montague, N.J.), Bryan Feliciano (Clifton, N.J.), Aaziah Scott (Savannah, Ga.) and Hunter Hayes (Auburn, Maine).
Jack Mealy (Highland Mills, N.Y.), James Green (Gales Ferry, Conn.), Bode Dunn (Stockton, N.J.), Nick Gonzalez (Parsippany, N.J.), Christian Johnson-Hall (Savannah, Ga.), JT Kinsey (Savannah, Ga.), Will Aviles (Bethlehem, Pa.), Nick Peterson (Kingston, Mass.) and TJ Welch (Shrewsbury, Mass.) all earned nods to the NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team this fall.
Sordillo has led the Springfield defense to one of its most dominant seasons in program history. Individually, Sordillo has 11.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for a loss and 52 total tackles, while as a team Springfield ranks among the best in Division III allowing just 11.8 points per game, 196.5 total yards per game and 54.8 rushing yards per game.
Paladino has had a stellar return game this season making it the second-consecutive year a return specialist had won the award for the Pride. He has the most returns on the team and his season has been highlighted by a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against and an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown in wins against MIT and Norwich, respectively.
Scott, the 2024 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, has continued to impress with 39.0 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hurries. The defensive line of Sordillo, Scott, Kinsey, and Johnson-Hall has been a key piece of Springfield ranking among the best defenses in the country. Kinsey has 31.0 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and five hurries while Johnson-Hall had 25.0 tackles and seven tackles for a loss.
The secondary of Paladino, Feliciano, Hayes, Gonzalez, Aviles, and Peterson has been productive for Springfield. Hayes' 57.0 tackles is a team-best while Peterson's 48.0 are ranked fourth on the team. Gonzalez has picked off opposing quarterbacks twice while Paladino has had seven break ups.
Connell and Mealy have had dominant seasons up front for the Pride, leading an offensive line that has been of the top rushing offense in Division III this year averaging 347.3 yards per game. That number is not only atop Division III, but is second across all NCAA Divisions including FBS, FCS and Division II.
The backfield consisting of Davis, Green, and Dunn has had an impressive season for the Pride. After losing some key components of its offense a season ago, these student-athletes have stepped up with Davis rushing 770 yards and four touchdowns. Green has rushed for 552 yards and six touchdowns while Dunn has chipped in 519-rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Welch has had a fantastic season in his first season under center after leading the team with 914 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns along with 309 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Springfield (8-2) will host Cortland (8-2) in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament on Stagg Field this Saturday at noon. This marks the third straight year the Pride will have hosted a postseason game on Alden Street. The game can be seen exclusively on ESPN+.
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