(Wednesday, February 7; Sioux Center, Iowa) The Dordt Defender football program has announced its current commitments for the 2024 recruiting class. 39 individuals make up the class that will join a program that has posted six straight seasons of seven wins or more and posted a 9-3 record in 2024 and won a NAIA National Championship First Round game.
"We are ecstatic about this class. We target prospects who excel athletically and have maximum capacity to thrive at Dordt University. Football contribution, academics, and faith all play a factor in the recruiting process. Our staff works tirelessly to present the Dordt story in a truthful and compelling way. In the end, this group of young men have bought into the Defender Way and I believe they will contribute to the championship trajectory of our program," said Dordt head football coach Joel Penner.
February 7, 2024 Commits
Judah Baart is a 6-2, 170 pound cornerback and is a senior at Unity Christian High School (Iowa). He had an interception this season and plans to study health and human performance.
Will Bastian is a senior at Valley Christian High School (Arizona) and is a 6-0, 165 pound cornerback. He was a first-team all-region and all-conference selection and he plans to study business administration.
Andrew Beekman is a senior at St. Croix Lutheran Academy (Minnesota) and is a 6-0, 185 pound wide receiver and safety who also served as punter and kicker. He averaged over 90 yards receiving per game in 2023 while earning all-conference honorable mention honors. Beekman plans to study engineering.
Kyler Bork will graduate from Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union (Iowa) and played safety and wide receiver. He totaled 1,411 yards on 89 catches with 15 touchdown receptions. He had a school record 10 interceptions during his career with 75 tackles and returned 15 punts for 108 yards. In 2023 Bork caught 49 passes for 677 yards and eight touchdowns while also making 25 tackles with five interceptions with two of them returned for scores. Bork was a second-team all-state pick while also earning all-district honors twice. He's an academic all-state honoree and twice earned academic all-district honors. Bork plans to study engineering.
Carson Cooper is a senior at Boerne High School (Texas) and is 6-1, 155 pounds. He's been the place kicker and punter and was named the special teams player of the year in his district last season. He converted 97 percent of his point after kicks and all of his field goals while scoring 88 points. He will study business administration.
Elijah Davidson will graduate from Liberty High School (Arizona) and is listed 6-2, 180 pounds. He plans to study business administration.
Treveon De Wayne Dawson Jr is a senior at St. Pius Matthias Academy (California). He's a 5-10, 165 pound receiver and defensive back. He's a three-time, second-team all-league performer and will study business administration.
Drake Gustafson is 6-3, 190 pounds and played quarterback and defensive back at Ethan High School (South Dakota) in 2023. He ran for 11 touchdowns and passed for another four last season and had two interceptions and 50 tackles on defense. Gustafson was a part of two 11B state runner-up teams and four playoff qualifying teams. He was a 2023 11B all-state selection and an Argus Leader Elite 45 honorable mention selection. Gustafson was an all-conference selection in 2023 after earning honorable mention honors in 2022 after making 39 tackles and getting three interceptions. He will study agriculture.
Ethan Hernandez is a senior at Durango High School (Nevada) and played cornerback. He's 6-1, 160 pounds and had 13 pass break-ups with a forced fumble and fumble recovery. He will study engineering.
PrynceJohn Jamil Hill is a 6-0, 165 pound quarterback from Lutheran South Academy (Texas). He plans to study psychology and business administration.
Peyton Himmerick played for New Prague High School (Minnesota) and is a 6-1, 195 pound linebacker. He had 38 solo tackles in 2023 with seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He forced two fumbles and was named academic all-state and all-district honorable mention. He plans to study actuarial science.
Tyler Hughes is a 5-10, 280 pound offensive lineman and prepped at Central Valley Christian (California). He started 55 varsity games and earned first-team all-conference honors twice and conference lineman of the year honors once. Hughes was part of two Valley Championship teams and a state title team. He plans to study health and human performance.
Cole Johnson is a 6-0, 180 pound running back and linebacker from Parker, Colorado. He played for Lutheran High School (Colorado) and had 71 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, with three forced fumbles, and one interception. Johnson ran for 539 yards and eight touchdowns.
Alex Jones is a senior at Edmond Sante Fe (Oklahoma) and is a 6-2, 285 pound defensive lineman. He was named Oklahoman Big City honorable mention and the most improved defensive player in 2022. He plans to study health and human performance.
Ben Lantz is a 6-3, 220 pound defensive end and will graduate from Boyer Valley High School (Iowa). He had 63 tackles with 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss while earning first-team all-district honors and he has been chosen to play in the 2024 Iowa Shrine Bowl. He will study actuarial science.
Tyler Mantel is a senior at Western Christian High School (Iowa) and is a 6-1, 190 pound running back and linebacker. He ran for 2,755 yards during his career with 41 touchdowns and he had 34.5 tackles on defense. Mantel was twice named first-team all-district and second-team once. He plans to study business administration.
Owen Miranowski is a senior at Palmer Ridge High School (Colorado) and totaled 57 tackles in 2023 with two fumble recoveries. He earned first-team all-conference honors in 2023 and was an honorable mention honoree in 2022. Miranowski had 145 career tackles with 12 sacks and he also had seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. He was selected to play in the 2024 Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State game. He plans to study construction management.
Grady Noll is a senior at Jefferson County North (Kansas) and is listed 5-11, 180 pounds. He ran for 1,238 yards on 189 carries in 2023 and passed for 1,094 yards on 52 completions and he had 13 touchdown passes. He totaled 48 tackles on defense and had three interceptions and broke up five passes. He earned first-team all-state honors in 2023 and 2022 and claimed all-league honors twice. He was Sports in Kansas first-team all-state selection and will study biology.
Michael Olas is a senior at Colorado Spring Springs Christian High School (Colorado) where he played receiver and linebacker. He had 28 catches for 453 yards and had 71 total tackles with six quarterback sacks. Olas was a 2024 all-state honorable mention selection and he plans to study business administration.
Jude Rapert will graduate from Valley View High School (Arkansas) and is 6-1, 225 pounds. He earned all-conference honors in 2023 and was a three-year starter. Rapert plans to study business administration at Dordt.
Kade Rosenow will graduate from Clintonville High School (Wisconsin) and is a 6-5, 195 pound quarterback. He has passed for 5,587 yards with 65 career touchdowns and he has run for four scores. In 2023 he passed for 2,259 yards and 23 touchdowns. He's a two-time all-state honorable mention selection and earned all-region honors twice and all-conference honors three times. Rosenow will study business administration.
Brycen Schwenka played for Minden High School (Nebraska) and is 6-4, 215 pounds. He had 98 tackles on defense and caught nine passes. He was named all-Tribland punter and earned all-region and all-district honors in 2022 while helping Minden to a state playoff berth. He was a Kearney Hub All-Region First-Team pick, a first-team all-region selection and an all-state honorable mention selection by the Omaha World Herald. He plans to study agriculture business.
Mitchell Schnepf is a 6-5, 295 pound defensive and offensive lineman from Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union. He recorded 47.5 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss while earning second-team all-state honors along with first-team all-district honors. Schnepf also earned academic all-district honors and was twice an all-district honorable mention honoree. He plans to study agriculture business.
Tabor Tyson is a senior at Central Texas Christian School and played running back, wide receiver and defensive back. He ran for 2,867 yards in 2023 and caught passes for 180 yards and returned kicks for 248 yards. He scored 35 rushing touchdowns and had 38 total touchdowns in 2023. Tyson was a first-team all-state selection and earned district most valuable player honors.
Early Commits (December 2023)
Guy Barr is a senior at Marshall Christian Academy (Texas) where he has played quarterback, tight end, defensive end, and linebacker during his career. He's passed for 2,716 yards with 54 touchdowns at quarterback and he totaled 156 tackles with four interceptions on defense. Barr helped Marshall Christian to a state title in 2023 and he was named the offensive mvp of the state championship game. He was a member of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 all-star teams and plans to study education at Dordt.
Evan Beck is a senior at Spirit Lake High School (Iowa) and is listed at 6-3, 260 pounds and has played center. He's a two-time all-district selection and lineman of the year. He earned first-team all-state and academic all-state honors while helping Spirit Lake to the Class 2A State Playoff Semifinals. Beck plans to study engineering at Dordt.
Reece Christiansen, a 6-5, 245-pound offensive and defensive lineman from Front Range Christian High School (Colorado), will join the Defenders and plans to study business.
Jack Crane is a 6-4, 270-pound offensive lineman at Sioux Center High School (Iowa). Crane earned all-district first-team honors in 2023 after claiming honorable mention accolades as a junior. He's a first-team academic all-state honoree and is an academic all-district selection too. Crane plans to enter the pre-optometry program at Dordt.
Collin Friesen is a 6-7, 310-pound offensive and defensive tackle at Christ Preparatory Academy (Kansas) where he was named a 2023 NHFA All-Star. Friesen plans to study biology.
Jaxon Gutowski is a senior at Coronado High School (Colorado) and is listed as a 6-1, 165-pound quarterback who passed for 4,000 career yards and 26 touchdowns. Gutowski also ran for eight touchdowns and earned two first-team all-conference selections and two academic all-conference selections. He plans to enter the pre-physical therapy program.
Logan Hanson is a 5-10, 200 pound running back and linebacker from Thorp High School (Wisconsin). Hanson gained 4,134 career rushing yards with 47 touchdowns and 917 receiving yards on 59 catches. He had 16 touchdown receptions and totaled 247 tackles with 26 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks and four interceptions. He's the all-time rushing leader at Thorp and earned first-team all-state honors at running back in 2023 and is a two-time all-region honoree on offense and a three-time all-conference honoree. Hanson also claimed defensive all-conference second-team honors and was a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Academic All-State selection. He plans to study engineering at Dordt.
Brody Peissig played for St. Croix Central (Wisconsin) and had 87 career tackles with 26 for loss and 8.5 sacks. Peissig earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior and was recognized as an all-region defensive lineman this year. Peissig is listed at 6-3, 230 pounds and has played defensive end and offensive lineman. He plans to study data science.
Isaac Pelland is listed as a 6-2, 220-pound linebacker, running back and tight end at Baraboo High School (Wisconsin). He gained 4.9 yards per carry and had 130 total tackles on defense with three sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Pelland is a two-time second-team all-conference honoree and earned first-team honors in 2023 while also earning academic all-state honors. Pelland plans to study engineering.
Brendan Prather is a senior at Edmond Sante Fe High School (Oklahoma). He is 6-1, 240 pounds and was named the COAC Second-Team Offensive Lineman and a first-team all-district selection. Prather plans to study psychology.
Jacob Singleton played offensive line for Fairmont High School (Minnesota) and is 6-1, 280 pounds. He was named to the all-conference team and was named lineman of the year in the conference. He plans to study criminal justice at Dordt.
Karter Tolsma is a senior at Alamosa High School (Colorado) and played linebacker. Tolsma is 6-1, 205 and had one interception and 43 total tackles for Alamosa. He was a first-team all-conference selection and claimed honorable mention all-state accolades. He plans to study agriculture at Dordt.
Robert Tweed II is a senior at Jefferson County North High School (Kansas). Tweed had 110 tackles with 30 tackles for loss the last two seasons with 16 sacks and two forced fumbles. Tweed totaled nine sacks with 63 tackles in 2023. He was an All-Northeast Kansas League Offensive and Defensive Lineman pick, and he was a Class 1A All-State selection on defense. Tweed also earned Sports in Kansas 1A Defensive Player of the Year honors. Tweed is 6-3, 235 pounds and he plans to study criminal justice.
Keenan Valverde is a running back from Pierce High School (Nebraska) who ran for 1,854 yards in 2023 and scored 25 rushing touchdowns and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. He also had 11 receptions with one for a touchdown in 2023. Valverde ran for 1,900 yards in 2022 and had 27 rushing touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry in 2022. He's a two-time All-State running back and was part of two state championship teams and a runner-up finisher. He plans to study health and human performance at Dordt.
Ethan Van Ginkel prepped at Unity Christian High School (Iowa) and played wide receiver, running back and defensive back during his career and has also returned punts and kicks. Van Ginkel is a two-time, first-team all-district selection and was an academic all-district selection as well. He had 40 career catches for 418 yards and two touchdowns and on defense he had six interceptions with two fumble recoveries. He plans to study engineering at Dordt.
