AUGUSTA, Ga. — University of South Dakota junior punter Tyler Ebel has been named to the 2025 FCS Punter of the Year Watch List. Halfway through the 2025 campaign, Ebel leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in punting average (49.1), longest punt (66 yards), and touchbacks (3).
 
On the season, the DeForest, Wisconsin native has had six of his 19 punts inside the 20-yard line with eight punts being 50+ yards. Against Murray State on Daktoa Days (Oct. 4), Ebel booted a pair of 60+ yard punts, including a career-long of 66 yards. The 66-yard punt currently sits T10th in program history for longest punt.
 
If the season ended today, Ebel would set the South Dakota single-season program record for punting average. He sits eighth on the single-season punt average top-10 list after averaging 42.5 yards per punt in 2023.
 
Entering the 2025 campaign, the junior sat fifth in program history for career punting average at 42.1 yards per punt. With his 19 punts this season (as of Oct. 8), his 43.2 yards per punt average would sit tied for the program record. Only Brady Schutt (2017-21) has averaged 43+ yards per punt in their Coyote career.
 
The Wisconsin native also inches closer to cracking the top-10 in program history for career punts. He currently sits 10th all-time in program history in career punting yards, looking to become just the 10^th punter in South Dakota history to punt for 5,000 or more yards in their career; cracking the top-10 in the North Dakota State game (Sept. 27).
 
2025 FCS Punter of the Year Watch List (as of Sept. 15)
Ben D'Aquila, Northern Arizona
Brendan Kilpatrick, Youngstown State
Gilbert Brown, Charleston Southern
Jacob Baker, Eastern Kentucky
James Platte, The Citadel
Jeff Yurk, Elon
John McConnell, Mercer
Johnny Schifano, Grambling State
Shane Messenger, Morgan State
Thomas O'Hara, Murray State
Tyler Ebel, South Dakota
Will Haslett, Fordham
 
Since the FCS award was created in 2019, one MVFC punter has won the award in Youngstown State's Brendon Kilpatrick last season in 2024. The Big Sky has won the most honorees with three, including two from the University of Montana (2021, 2022).
 
Semifinalists for the 2025 Punter of the Year award will be announced on December 3 with the winner of the 2025 honor being announced on December 15.
 
ABOUT THE FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Created in 2019 by the Augusta Sports Council, also the home of the Ray Guy Award for the best punter in the FBS, created the FCS Punter of the Year Award to honor the best collegiate punter in the FCS.
 
Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line, and percentage of punts not returned, with particular emphasis placed on net punting average.
 
The Punter of the Year is voted on by a national voting body consisting of FCS athletic communications directors and national sports writers.