St. Paul, MN - The 2025 UMAC football preseason poll was released on Thursday, and the MLC Knights were predicted to finish third (15 points) in the conference standings behind Greenville and Northwestern, who split first-place votes and tied at 23 points to finish atop the UMAC.

The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.

Head Coach Paul Huebner enters his fourth season with the Knights and his coming off a 6-4, 4-3 campaign in 2024, which was the Knights' best season under Huebner. MLC finished third last season behind the Eagles and Panthers and will look to surpass each school in 2025. and will have a good balance of returners on each side of the ball to help their case.

Top returners: Offense

Brady Turriff will be behind center again as a sophomore and put the conference on notice with a standout freshman season, breaking multiple MLC single-season passing records, including passing yards (1977), completions (145), and attempts (281). Turriff also finished second in all three of those categories among all UMAC passers.

Turriff will have a couple of key weapons returning on the outside in senior Thomas Koelpin and junior Jude Pederson. Koelpin earned First Team All-UMAC honors last year after finishing second in the UMAC in receptions (45), receiving yards (751), and touchdowns (5). Meanwhile, Pederson has garnered two First Team All-UMAC selections as a member of the Knights and was second on the squad in receptions (31), receiving yards (381), and touchdowns (4) in 2024.

Robert (R.J. Perry) will lead the interior of the offensive line as a junior after being named Second Team All-UMAC as a sophomore.

Top returners: Defense/Special Teams

Andrew Esmay will be an upperclassman on the edge of the defensive line. It will look to continue upon his breakout sophomore season, where he led all of Division III in sacks (16.5), forced fumbles (8), and fumble recoveries (5). Additionally, Esmay broke the MLC single-season record in all three categories and took home the UMAC Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the D3football.com All-Region team.

Esmay isn't the only impact player returning for the defense, as senior Tom Balge comes back at the linebacker/safety position. Balge was voted First Team All-UMAC in 2023 and Second Team a season ago, leading the conference in tackles as a sophomore (110) and third as a junior (90).

Jeremiah Stanton returns with experience at the cornerback spot to lead the Knights' secondary. Stanton led the UMAC in passes defended (15) and Interceptions (5) in 2023, giving him First Team All-UMAC accolades. Stanton once again led the conference in passes defended (13) in 2024, as he earned Second Team All-UMAC.

Kicker Micah Koschnitzke will be back for one more season and led the UMAC with six made field goals in 2024. Koschnitzke has been named First Team All-UMAC in 2024 and Second Team in 2023, while he has been on the team.

MLC kicks off the 2025 season on the road in Appleton, WI, when they go to Lawrence University for a 12 p.m. game with the Vikings.

Full UMAC Football Preseason Poll Press Release

Complete poll
 

Place	School	Points
1	Greenville (3)	23
1	Northwestern (3)	23
3	Martin Luther	15
4	Minnesota Morris	14
5	Crown	8
6	Westminster	7