HILLSBORO, Ore. -- The 2025 All-Northwest Conference volleyball rosters and major awards have been announced by the conference office, with two Bruins picking up major awards and nine being named to All-NWC teams.

Jacob Erickson earned a major award for the second time in his career, being named NWC Defensive Player of the Year in his senior campaign after missing his entire season due to injury. The 2022 NWC Rookie of the Year led the conference in sacks with 12.0 on the year — a GFU program record. Erickson also set a record for career sacks with 29.5 in his three years on the field. For a five-sack performance against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (another program high mark), Erickson was named NWC Student-Athlete of the Week and to the D3football.com Team of the Week.

Alongside his outrageous sack numbers, Erickson had 18 TFLs (14th in the nation), to go alongside 62 total tackles. Despite being a defensive end, the senior led the team in tackles on the year and recorded more tackles than two other First Team All-NWC linebackers — all done while facing double and triple teams up front. Erickson forced two fumbles, recorded 11 additional QB hurries, and blocked two kicks. With the honor, Erickson became the first Bruin since Daniel Campos in 2019 to be named NWC Defensive Player of the Year and third overall.

"Jacob was the most dominant defensive player in our conference," Bruin head coach Spencer Crace said, "Everyone prepared and game planned for him. What he was able to accomplish was extremely impressive, and I can't wait to see what he does with another year in this system."

While Erickson finished up his senior year with the Bruins (though he does have one year of eligibility remaining with a medical redshirt), Karsen Denault impressed in his freshman season. The wide receiver pulled in two catches for 78 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate game and never looked back. Denault caught a touchdown in six of the 10 games, and caught two TDs in three games, for a total of nine scores on the season — the second-most in program history.

Denault passed the 150-yard mark in two games and finished with the fourth-most receiving yards in the Northwest Conference (and most out of any non-Puget Sound receiver). Denault ended his freshman season 12th in the nation with a staggering 21.6 yards per reception and became the first Bruin WR named to the All-NWC First Team since Leon Johnson III in 2022. With his Rookie of the Year honor, Denault becomes the second Bruin to earn the award — alongside his teammate, Erickson.

"Karsen got better and better every single week," Crace said, "He was one of the most explosive players in the conference. For a team that doesn't throw the ball every play, Karsen scratched the surface of nearly 1000 yards with less than 50 catches. I'm so excited for Karsen's future as a Bruin. This is only the beginning!"


One additional player was named First Team All-NWC: Kuyper Assink. The sophomore defensive end would have set numerous program records if not for his teammate Erickson. Assink ended his year with 9.5 sacks (tied for second in the conference and 16th in the nation), including a three-sack game against Puget Sound that earned him NWC Student-Athlete of the Week honors.

Two players were named to the All-NWC Second Team: kicker Ben Rembisz and linebacker Kaikoa Iokia. Rembisz, who was All-NWC Honorable Mention his freshman season, had a solid year for the Bruins his junior campaign. The Fox kicker finished 8/12 on kicks, with a long of 42 yards on the season, and converted on 27 of his 28 PATs on the year. In addition, the sophomore had 44 kickoffs on the year, with four going for touchbacks. 

Iokia, meanwhile, earned his first-ever all-conference honor in his first year as a full-time starter. The Bruin linebacker was second on the team with 60 tackles, a mark that's in the top 20 in the NWC. Iokia also totaled 3.5 sacks, 10.5 TFLs, and three passes defended. All of the stats for Iokia were career marks as he exploded from nine total tackles his freshman season.

The Bruins rounded out their nine All-NWC honors with four Third Team All-NWC (Formerly the Honorable Mention category) athletes in Lawa Ah Yat, Rylan McGraw, Riley Rutledge, and Ty Borde.

Ah Yat and McGraw served as starting linemen in all seven NWC games, with McGraw playing at left guard and Ah Yat holding down the fort at center. Thanks to the two lineman, the Bruins averaged 203 rushing yards over the past five games, helping the Bruins finish the year 4-1.

Rutledge was also a key cog for the Fox team, helping flip the field as a punter. The sophomore, who was Honorable Mention All-NWC as a freshman, punted for 1,802 yards, the most in the NWC. On his 47 punts, he forced 10 fair catches and put eight inside the 20. In addition to his punting skills, Rutledge even had a carry for eight yards on a fake punt, picking up a first down on his attempt.

Rounding out the Third-Teamers was Ty Borde, who finished his junior season with career marks in tackles and interceptions. Borde had 50 tackles on the year, 27 of which were solo, and picked off two passes on the season, returning one for 38 yards. The cornerback had a season-high nine tackles in his final home game against Pacific, and recorded five tackles or more in seven games. 

"[I'm] proud of all our guys," Bruin head coach Spencer Crace said, "We were picked to finish near the bottom of this conference and to see nine on the all-conference list is a testimony to their hard work and this coaching staff. Many guys were deserving. It takes everyone, and I'm proud of this team, their trust and buy-in to our culture. Great things ahead for this football team!"

The Bruins finished the season fourth in the NWC and showed tremendous improvement from the beginning to the end of the season, finishing the year 4-1 in their final five games. At least seven of the nine All-NWC athletes will return in 2026 as they look to show those final five games were not a fluke, but the new standard of George Fox football.