Glenville State University’s Brandon Penn (1), pictured here making a tackle on Wheeling running back Steven Mitchell with help from teammate Anthony Bachinski, was selected first team All-Mountain East Conference at defensive back. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

BRIDGEPORT — The 2025 Mountain East Conference football all-conference teams and individual award-winners were announced Tuesday afternoon. The All-MEC teams and a quintet of top honors were chosen by a vote of league head coaches.

Glenville State, which finished the season 6-5, saw five of its players named first team.

After rushing for 1,067 yards and 11 touchdowns on 227 carries, running back Jeremiah King made the first team. King also caught 14 passes for 243 yards and three TDs.

Quarterback Anthony Garrett was a first teamer after going 196 for 351 for 3,003 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Garrett also ran for 306 yards and two TDs on 76 attempts.

The Pioneers had three defensive players make the first team — defensive lineman Tank Gant, linebacker Shary Jefferson and defensive back Brandon Penn.

Penn, a Parkersburg South graduate, notched a team-high 98 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He also had an interception and was tied for the national lead with four blocked kicks.

Gant registered 54 tackles this season, 7.5 TFLs, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

Jefferson added 66 total stops, 5.5 TFLs, a sack and a forced fumble.

West Liberty running back Hunter Patterson is the 2025 MEC Offensive Player of the Year. The junior from Chester, West Virginia, carried the ball 174 times for 1,219 yards and 17 touchdowns, and added 33 receptions for 418 yards and three touchdowns. He is the only player in Division II with 1,000-plus rushing yards and 400-plus receiving yards, and ranks No. 5 nationally in all-purpose yards per game. Patterson’s 120 points scored are tied for No. 5 in MEC history, and he is the third player in league history to rush for 17 or more touchdowns, joining Chavon Wright and Jaleel McLaughlin.

University of Charleston linebacker Aden Miller is the 2025 MEC Defensive Player of the Year. The senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, recorded 65 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery for one of the MEC’s top defenses. Miller led a Golden Eagles defensive unit that finished No. 2 in the MEC in scoring defense, allowing 23.4 points per game, and No. 1 in rush defense, allowing 117.1 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry.

West Virginia State’s Devin Cox is the MEC Offensive Freshman Player of the Year. Hailing from Waldorf, Maryland, the running back made an immediate impact on the Yellow Jackets’ offense with 92 carries for 628 yards and three touchdowns. Cox added seven receptions for 121 yards and another score. He finished with three 100-yard rushing performances, including in wins against Fairmont State and Glenville State, and finished eighth in the MEC in rushing yards.

Wheeling’s Dylan Newman is the MEC Defensive Freshman of the Year. The linebacker from Brandywine, Maryland, recorded 64 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss, and three sacks in his first season with the Cardinals. He also recovered a fumble. Newman recorded eight tackles in four games: at Lake Erie, at Fairmont State, against Charleston, and at Glenville State, and he finished ranked fifth in the MEC in tackles for a loss.

Frostburg State’s Eric Wagoner has been selected the MEC Coach of the Year by his peers. The Bobcats compiled a 9-2 record overall and 7-1 mark in league play, earning a share of the MEC championship. By virtue of a tiebreaker, Frostburg State earned the MEC’s automatic qualifying berth, and will face No. 2 seed Johnson C. Smith in Super Region One. The Bobcats spent two different stints inside the AFCA Top 25 poll, and defeated defending MEC champion University of Charleston, 32-30, in double overtime on Oct. 18.