Greenville, S.C. – Western Carolina football landed 11 players on the 2025 Preseason All-Southern Conference team released on Tuesday, punctuated by the SoCon's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for a second-straight season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Taron Dickens was dubbed the league's top offensive player and first-team All-SoCon as part of the SoCon Football Media Day festivities held at the Hotel Hartness.
 
Dickens was joined on the preseason All-SoCon first-team offense by backfield counterpart in running back Branson Adams and returning All-Freshman and third-team Freshman All-America selection in 2024, offensive lineman Zach Watson. Defensive end Caleb Fisher, linebacker Hayward McQueen Jr., and defensive back Ken Moore Jr. were also each named to the first-team defense.
 
Offensive lineman Aaron Sanez, who returns from an injury that sidelined him a season ago, and wide receiver Malik Knight were both dubbed second-team preseason All-SoCon on offense. That duo was joined on the second-team defense by veteran defensive end Micah Nelson, linebacker Blue Monroe, and safety Samaurie Dukes.
 
All nine league teams were represented on the 2025 preseason All-SoCon team. Western Carolina and Mercer landed a conference-best 11 preseason All-SoCon honorees, including a league-best six first-team selections.
 
Dickens is the third WCU QB to earn the top preseason offensive award since 2019, joining Cole Gonzales (2024) and Tyrie Adams (2019). Branson Adams and Samaurie Dukes were both second-team preseason All-SoCon selections a year ago. Last year's postseason All-Freshman honorees Dickens and Watson were recognized this preseason among WCU's nine award winners in 2024. Micah Nelson earns his second preseason accolade as he was named first-team preseason All-SoCon in 2023, a year he ultimately missed due to injury.
 
Additionally, on Tuesday, Western Carolina was picked third in the official preseason coaches' poll for a second consecutive season, following its program-best six SoCon victories as the league runner-up a year ago. It is the seventh time since 1983 that WCU was picked third in the SoCon preseason poll by the head coaches, and the third time over the last 10 seasons (2025, 2024, 2015). The Catamounts received one of a possible nine first-place votes and were just one point back of preseason second-place pick Chattanooga.
 
Eight of Western Carolina's 11 preseason honorees are upperclassmen, including a trio of fifth-year seniors, two seniors, a pair of redshirt juniors, and one true junior. The remaining three are redshirt sophomores, each selected on offense.
 
Taron Dickens, QB – First-Team All-SoCon – SoCon Offensive Player of the Year
Third-year signal caller, redshirt sophomore Taron Dickens posted a 3-1 record as a starter at the end of the 2024 season, thrust into the starting role against nationally-ranked Chattanooga after a season-ending injury to the SoCon's 2024 top offensive player, QB Cole Gonzales. Dickens responded by throwing for a career-high 431 yards and five touchdowns to guide the Catamounts to the upset victory.
 
Dickens, who last week garnered preseason All-America second-team honors from Stats Perform, threw for 1,428 yards on 127 completions with 12 touchdown passes last season. He was twice named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, and thrice recognized by Stats Perform FCS with its top rookie honor. He was twice an honorable mention for National Freshman of the Week, capturing the top prize following the win over UTC.
 
Branson Adams, RB – First-Team All-SoCon Offense
Fifth-year senior Branson Adams is WCU's top returning rusher off an offensive unit that amassed a school-record 5,665 yards a season ago. The Greensboro, N.C., product rushed for a career-high 749 yards to rank fifth in the SoCon and scored four times on the ground last fall, adding 284 receiving yards and a TD out of the backfield. Adams has 1,332 career rushing yards in a Catamount uniform with seven career scores on the ground and five touchdown receptions.
 
Zach Watson, OL – First-Team All-SoCon Offense
Coming off a debut season that saw him garner all-freshman honors both in the SoCon and nationally, redshirt sophomore OL Zach Watson looks to build on his first season. He played in all 12 games in 2024, including three starts as he filled in the voids left by injuries throughout the line. The Waycross, Ga., product has seen action in 14 career games with four starts over his two years with WCU.
 
Caleb Fisher, DE – First-Team All-SoCon Defense
One of a trio of returning starters on the defensive side of the ball, redshirt senior DE Caleb Fisher returns for his final season with the Catamounts after posting 37 tackles in 2024, including 23 solo stops and seven tackles for loss. Fisher was credited with six quarterback hurries, and he recorded a stop in all 12 games, with a season-high six tackles twice. Fisher has 67 career tackles over the previous four seasons with 13 tackles for loss, including a trio of sacks.
 
Hayward McQueen Jr., LB – First-Team All-SoCon Defense
Veteran linebacker Hayward McQueen Jr. returns to guide the Catamount defense after pacing the squad with 61 total tackles on a balanced unit a season ago. He was credited with 23 solo stops with 7.5 for loss. Seven of his 12 appearances were starts last fall. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native posted a season-best 11 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry, against chromatic rival Furman. He totaled five or more tackles nine times throughout the 2024 campaign.
 
Ken Moore Jr., DB – First-Team All-SoCon Defense
A SoCon All-Freshman Team selection in 2023, redshirt junior defender Ken Moore Jr. ranks among WCU's top returning defenders in the secondary. A product of Miami, Fla., Moore Jr. posted 36 tackles with 23 solo stops and four for loss a year ago, appearing in all 12 games with 10 starts. He finished second on the Catamount squad with four interceptions coming at NC State, at home in the upset win over Chattanooga, against VMI in Cullowhee, and one in the regular-season finale road victory at Samford.
 
Malik Knight, WR – Second-Team All-SoCon Offense
A redshirt sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Malik Knight ranks among the top returning wide receivers for a Catamount offense that eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing mark for the first time in program history with a school-record 4,029 total yards. Knight finished 2024 with 23 grabs for 392 yards, while scoring his first collegiate touchdown against chromatic rival Furman in mid-October. He had a pair of four catch games to close out the regular season against VMI and Samford, while hauling in a career-high 79 yards against the Bulldogs in the 2024 finale.
 
Aaron Sanez, OL – Second-Team All-SoCon Offense
Returning from an injury that sidelined him through the 2024 season and much of the 2025 spring, Aaron Sanez looks to help steady an offensive line room that looks to replace five starters from 2024. Sanez is slated to see his first on-field action since Nov. 18, 2023, as he played in six games with three starts during his opening campaign with the Catamounts. The Clearwater, Fla., native aims to help continue the offensive success from a season ago, when the squad posted over 5,000 yards of offense.
 
Samaurie Dukes, DB – Second-Team All-SoCon Defense
Another veteran defender, Dukes garnered second-team plaudits after playing in 10 games last fall with seven starts for defensive coordinator Jerry Odom. Dukes finished with 55 total stops, third on the squad, with 33 solo tackles and 1.5 TFLs. With at least two tackles in each game, the Miami, Fla., native posted a career-high 12 tackles in last year's home opener against Campbell and recorded two of his five career interceptions in 2024.
 
Blue Monroe, LB – Second-Team All-SoCon Defense
A third-year linebacker from Concord, N.C., Blue Monroe garnered his first SoCon honor with a second-team preseason All-SoCon honor entering 2025. Monroe played in 11 of the team's 12 games with a pair of starts, making the most of his opportunities with a career-best 36 tackles, including 19 solo stops and eight for losses with 1.5 sacks. He posted multiple tackles 10 times with four or more stops four times.
 
Micah Nelson, DE – Second-Team All-SoCon Defense
Veteran defensive end Micah Nelson collected his second career preseason All-SoCon honor, landing first-team honors back in 2023 despite missing the season. The Murphy, N.C., product appeared in 11 of the team's 12 games last year, finishing with 26 tackles, including 10 solo stops and 6.5 tackles for loss with a pair of sacks. Nelson enters the season with 121 career tackles over four seasons dating back to 2020, with 13 career TFLS and five sacks.
 
Led by 2025 SoCon Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Anthony Zock, the defending league champion Mercer Bears (60) collected six of the available nine first-place votes to headline the preseason poll. Chattanooga (50), which finished third behind WCU a season ago, was picked second with a pair of first-place votes, just ahead of the Catamounts (49). ETSU (43) finished just behind WCU in the voting in fourth in the preseason tabulation, with the Bucs edging out Samford (40) in fifth and Furman (36) in sixth. Rounding out the preseason poll were Wofford (19), The Citadel (17), and VMI (10).
 
WCU opens the season at home, under the lights on Labor Day Weekend against Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Aug. 30. Western Carolina's football student-athletes officially report for fall camp on Tuesday, July 29, with the first of two helmet-only practices scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, July 30.
 
Season tickets for all six home games, along with single-game tickets and gameday parking for the Aug. 30 home opener, are currently on sale through the Catamount Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Tickets and parking for WCU's remaining five home dates go on sale to the public on Monday, July 28.
 

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2025 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)     Total
1. Mercer (6) – 60
2. Chattanooga (2) – 50
3. Western Carolina (1) – 49
4. ETSU – 43
5. Samford – 40
6. Furman – 36
7. Wofford – 19
8. The Citadel – 17
9. VMI – 10
 

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2025 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Taron Dickens, R-So., QB, Western Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Zock, So., DL, Mercer
 
First team offense
QB – Taron Dickens, Western Carolina
RB – Devontae Houston, ETSU
RB – Branson Adams, Western Carolina
OL – Mike Bartilucci, The Citadel
OL – Ashton Flinn, ETSU
OL – Eli Brasher, Furman
OL – Xavier Jennings, Mercer
OL – B J Ragland, Chattanooga
OL – Zach Watson, Western Carolina
TE – Jackson Pryor, Furman
WR – Hakeem Meggett, ETSU
WR – Adjatay Dabbs, Mercer
 
First team defense
DL – Nick Hunter, ETSU
DL – Andrew Zock, Mercer
DL – Conroy Cunningham, Samford
DL – Caleb Fisher, Western Carolina
LB – Je'Mazin Roberts, The Citadel
LB – Ryan Earl, Furman
LB – Hayward McQueen Jr., Western Carolina
DB – Cale Williams, The Citadel
DB – Kouri Crump, VMI
DB – Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina
DB – CJ Coombes, Wofford
 
First team specialists
PK – Ian Williams, Furman
P – James Platte, The Citadel
LS – lex Applefield, Samford
RS – Brayden Smith, Mercer
 
Second team offense
QB – Quincy Crittendon, Samford
RB – Autavius Ison, Mercer
RB – CJ Miller, Mercer
OL – Jonathan Cline, ETSU
OL – Micah Sumpter, ETSU
OL – Luke Petit, Furman
OL – Tyler Murray, Mercer
OL – Aaron Sanez, Western Carolina
OL – Quincy Hughes, Wofford
TE – John McIntyre., Chattanooga
WR – Adonis McDaniel, Mercer
WR – Malik Knight, Western Carolina
WR – Isaiah Scott, Wofford
 
Second team defense
DL – Brenden LeBlanc, ETSU
DL – Micah Nelson, Western Carolina
DL – Brandon Maina, Wofford
DL – Marion Smokes, Wofford
LB – Ty Anderson, ETSU
LB – Jaden Mosley, Samford
LB – Blue Monroe, Western Carolina
DB – Donovan Watkins, Mercer
DB – Jeremiah Batiste, Chattanooga
DB – Samaurie Dukes, Western Carolina
DB – Maximus Pulley, Wofford
 
Second team specialists
PK – Ewan Johnson, ETSU
P – John McConnell, Mercer
LS – Jaiden Hamilton, Mercer
RS – Braylon Knauth, The Citadel
 
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