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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis football team, which received votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)
preseason poll, opens its season on Saturday, September 6 at 7 p.m. against Rhodes. The game will be the Fall Welcome Student Tailgate.
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The Bears head into their final season playing the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) before
entering the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2026.
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Following the season opener, the Bears will have a bye week before traveling to Carroll on September 20 for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The following week, WashU returns home on Saturday, September 27 to face North Central at 1 p.m., who won last year's national title and was voted No. 1 in both the AFCA and d3football.com preseason polls. The game against NCC will be Parent and Family Weekend.
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On Saturday, October 4, the Bears host Illinois Wesleyan at 6 p.m. before traveling the following week, Saturday, October 11 for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Carthage.
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WashU hosts Elmhurst on Saturday, October 18 at 1 p.m. on Alumni Day before hitting the road for a two-game stretch. First, on Saturday, October 25 the Bears will head to Wheaton for a 1 p.m. game before making the short trip to Millikin on Saturday, November 1 at 1 p.m.
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The Bears' final home game, which will be Senior Day, is on Saturday, November 8 at 12 p.m. WashU wraps up the regular-season slate on Saturday, November 15 with a roadtrip to Augustana for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
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WashU finished the 2024 season 8-2, posting the fewest losses in a season since 2018.
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On the offensive side, senior
Fred Ware returns after leading the team with nine rushing touchdowns last year while racking up 621 yards on 85 attempts. Ware also had one receiving touchdown and recorded 54 receiving yards on four catches.
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Adding depth at the running back position are junior
Matthew Kinoshita, first-year
Karsten Cornell, first-year
Brayden Lewis and sophomore
Maddox Duncan.
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Junior
Levi Moore, who moved into the starting quarterback spot last year, went 89-for-154 with nine passing touchdowns. He also recorded 310 rushing yards on 42 attempts with six rushing touchdowns.
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Sophomore
Jack Atkinson, sophomore
Alexander Singh, first-year
Michael Buhay, first-year
Jack Behl, and first-year
Charles Maxell III add depth to the quarterback position.
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Junior
Makael Carter proved to be one of the top receiving options for the Bears, tying for a team-high five receiving touchdowns while recorded 286 yards on 17 catches.
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Joining Carter in the wide receiver spot are seniors
Luke Johnston and
Alex Kemp, juniors
Luke Stephens,
Drew Bomar and
Colin Donahue, sophomores
Danyel Khan,
Ryan Bienstock,
Zander Ealy,
Lucas Blumenthal,
Charlie Flowers and
Michael Champagne and first-years
Keon Preusser,
Mark Sanchez,
Ethan Feldner,
Grant MacBean,
Blake Bodnar and
Avery Lazard.
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WashU has a group of six tight ends that will provide another offensive option on the field, including senior
Will Gardner, juniors
Nathan Bluhm,
John Benke and
Jadon Margulies and first-years
Jacob Carr and
Jackson Weaver.
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The Bears have a large group of contenders for the offense line this season. Senior
Joseph Peters, juniors
Brady Cavan,
Jack Dietz, Andrew Crescuillo,
Dominic Begora,
Luke Gadomski and
Ryan Taylor, sophomores
Michael Ranquist,
Jackson Fisher and
John Badger, and first-years
Grant Stewart,
Jason Doyle,
Zachary Cox,
John Bobak,
Charles Ingrisano,
Nikola Dale and
Andy Covello will all vie for a spot on the O-Line.
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On the other side of the ball, junior
Joy Chane returns as a linebacker after receiving a CCIW Second Team Defense nod a season ago. Senior
Alex Lassoued, junior
Spencer Snipe, sophomores
Wiley Flores and
Conner Durkin and first-years
Andrew Ham,
William Olah and
Nick Lococo add depth.
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Senior
Salomon Dessalines is one of the top outside linebackers returning for WashU, joined by seniors
Brady Willmer and
Justin Mabry, junior
Henry Murr, sophomores
Nico Gomez,
Logan Thompson and
John Robbins and first-years
Everett Cui,
Kaden Karssen and
Ron Donaldson, Jr.
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Senior
Caiden Hill and junior
Brett Kersemeier return as veteran defensive backs, bolstered by junior
Cosmo Guion, sophomores
Izzy Mbatai,
Quinten Bennett and
Nate Miller along with first-years
LaDrew Murrell and
Talen Frett.
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The defensive line returns seniors
Gyvnn Mendenhall,
TJ Houston and
DJ Montgomery, juniors
Max Draheim,
Spencer Camastro and
Aron Jones, sophomores
Pete West,
Aidan Hughes and
Ethan Venable as well as first-years
Scottie Cook,
Teddy Koehl,
William Clay,
Peter Matheos, and
Jackson Staley.
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Rounding out the roster are the specialists, including four-year starting punter senior
Andrew Grisack, senior kicker
Jacob Weinstein, senior long snapper
Kollin Kolb, sophomore kicker/punter
Matias Adrogue, first-year punter/kicker
Grady Kugel and first-year long snapper
Matthew Lee.
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All home games will be streamed live on the
WashU Sports Network with live stats on
washubears.com. All road games will be streamed live on the newly-minted
CCIW Network.
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