14 Wyoming Cowboys Earn Athlon Sports Preseason All-Mountain West Honors

University of Wyoming Athletics Press Release
2 days ago
5 min read

Ethan Stuhlsatz makes a tackle against Colorado State University in the Border War. Photo by Troy Babbitt, UW Athletics.

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The 2026 Athlon Sports Preseason All-Conference teams were announced, and 14 Wyoming Cowboys were named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team. Three Cowboys earned first team honors with five more on the second team and six on the third and fourth teams.

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First Team

Desman Hearns was named first team at defensive back.He appeared 12 games with 11 starts in his first season with the Brown and Gold. He finished the season with 35 total tackles with 29 solo stops. He also added two tackles for loss. He tied for the team lead with two interceptions and forced two fumbles. He also tied for the team lead with five pass breakups. He added an interception in both the Northern Iowa and Colorado State games. He forced fumbles against Utah and UNLV. He recorded eight tackles twice doing so against Utah and San Jose State, as he recorded eight solo stops against SJSU.

Ethan Stuhlsatz was named one of the first team linebackers. Stuhlsatz appeared in all 12 games and made one start. He finished the season with 41 tackles to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. He had 20 solo stops and 21 assisted tackles. He recorded a season-high 10 tackle for the Pokes at San Diego State. He added seven tackles in the finale against Hawai'i. He finished with 24 tackles in the final four games of the season. He was an Academic All-MW selection.

Bart Edmiston was named the first team punter. Edmiston was one of the top punters in the Mountain West last season. He was fourth in the conference and No. 12 in the nation at 46.1 yards per punt. He punted the ball 65 time for nearly 3,000 yards. He had a long of 68 yards and recorded 26 punts of 50 or more yards. He had 22 punts inside the 20-yard line. His long punt came against San Jose State and he recorded five punts inside the 20-yard line against Colorado State. He was an Academic All-MW selection.

Second Team

Deion DeBlanc was named second team punt returner. DeBlanc appeared in 11 games for the Cowboys in his true freshman season. He earned Second Team-All-MW honors at punt return by Phil Steele. He finished the season with 17 catches for 90 yards and added 10 carries for 54 yards rushing. He recorded a career-high four catches twice, once against San Diego State and once against Hawaii. He had a career-high 39 yards receiving against Hawaii. He recorded a punt return for a score against San Jose State, which was a 73-yard return for a career long. He also added a 24-yard return against Northern Iowa.

Samuel "Tote" Harris was named one of the first team running backs. Harris was Wyoming's leading rusher last season, appearing in 11 games with seven starts. He finished the season with 558 yards on 100 carries for 5.6 yards per rush. He added a rushing score on the season coming against Northern Iowa. He also added 184 yards receiving on 16 catches. He rushed for a career-high 126 yards against Colorado with a career-long rush of 50 yards. He had four receptions at Air Force for a season best and had 58 yards receiving including a long of 52 against San Jose State. He also rushed for 102 yards against Fresno State on only 12 carries.

Rex Johnsen was named third team along the offensive line. Johnsen appeared in and started all 12 games for the Pokes. He has played in 32 career games for the Pokes. He helped a pair of running backs earn multiple 100-yard rushing games in Tote Harris and Sam Scott. The Pokes rushed for a season-high 212 yards against Colorado State in a 28-0 victory. UW had 426 yards in the season opener against Akron for a season best.

Jones Thomas was named third team at safety. Thomas appeared in and started 11 games for the Cowboys. He is the Cowboys' leading returning tackler from 2025 with 57. He also tied for the team lead with two interceptions and added four pass breakups. He recorded an interception for a touchdown against Hawai'i. He had a career-high 12 tackles for the Pokes at Fresno State. He also tied a career-high with seven solo stops, as he also had seven against Air Force. He added eight tackles against Utah and against UNLV. He was an Academic All-MW selection.

Jayden Wiliams was named second team. Williams played in 11 games with three starts during the 2025 season. He recorded 24 tackles for the season with a career-high three tackles for loss. He had 13 solo stops and 11 assisted tackles. He had a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss against San Jose State. He recorded four tackles twice on the season in back-to-back games against San Jose State and Air Force. He added three tackles three other times on the season. He had three tackles and a tackle for loss against Nevada.

Fourth Team

Jack Dunkley was named fourth team at defensive end. Dunkley comes to Wyoming after spending three seasons at Duquesne University. He was an All-NEC selection for the Dukes. He has appeared in 28 games in his career with 66 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. He has also forced five fumbles in his career. This past season, he recorded 34 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He recorded 27 tackles with 12.4 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 2024.

Markell Holman was named fourth team at running back. Holman comes to Wyoming after spending last season at Western Illinois. He was the Ohio Valley Conference rushing champion last season and earned All-OVC-Big South honors. He appeared in 12 games and rushed for 1,063 yards and had five games rushing for at least 100 yards. He also caught 39 passes for 314 yards. He recorded nine total touchdowns in 2025 with the Leathernecks. Prior to WIU, Holman was at Saint Francis University, as he rushed or 340 yards in ten games with two rushing touchdowns.

Braylon Jenkins was named fourth team along the offensive line. He appeared in all 12 games and started the last six of the season for the Cowboys. He helped a pair of running backs earn multiple 100-yard rushing games in Tote Harris and Sam Scott. The Pokes rushed for a season-high 212 yards against Colorado State in a 28-0 victory. UW had 426 yards in the season opener against Akron for a season best. He was an Academic All-MW selection.

Eric Richardson was named fourth team wide receiver. Richardson appeared in all 12 games with seven starts at wide receiver. He finished the season with 10 receptions for 112 yards with one touchdown. He averaged 11.2 yards per reception for the season. He had a 41-yard touchdown reception against Colorado for a season long. He grabbed a season-high three reception twice doing so against San Jose State and Colorado State.

Erik Sandvik was named fourth team kicker. He started all 12 games for the Cowboys at kicker. He finished the season going 6-of-11 in field goals and was 6-of-9 inside 50 yards with a long of 41 yards. He hit his first career field goal from 25 yards against Akron. He hit a 41 yarder against Fresno State. He recorded a career-high two field goals against Colorado.

Jake Wilson was named second team at tight end. He was poised to be a offensive weapon for the Pokes last season, before suffering a season ending injury.