AVE MARIA, Fla.- Six Ave Maria University football players were honored by The Sun Conference on Thursday, when the league announced its annual All-Conference teams and positional award winners. The awards were selected via a vote of SUN head coaches, with coaches unable to vote for players from their own team.

Bryan Stiemke was honored as The Sun Conference's Back of the Year, and led a group of three First Team All-Sun Conference honorees that also included Willie Jackson and Joshua Jenkins. Three more Gyrenes - Dray'sun Bonney, Connor Jewel, and Shane O'Brien - were honored as Second Team All-SUN selections.

Ave Maria's top two playmakers, as well as their top pash rusher, earned First Team All-Sun Conference recognition. Stiemke ran for 1304 yards on the season to earn All-SUN honors for the first time, while Jenkins' school record 55 catches for 684 yards earned him honors for the third year in a row. On the defensive side of the ball, Jackson's 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks made him an All-Conference player for the first time.

All three of AMU's Second Team All-SUN honorees came on the defensive side of the ball. Bonney, a first time All-SUN selection, ended the season with nine tackles for loss. Jewel, who led the Gyrenes with 73 total tackles this season, earns Second Team All-SUN honors for the fourth time in his career. O'Brien, who had 58 tackles and a team-high five PBUs, ends his career with his third All-SUN selection.

In addition to being named First Team All-SUN, Stiemke earned SUN Back of the Year recognition. In nine games this season, Stiemke ran for a school record 1304 yards, and his 144.9 yards per game currently rank first in the nation in the NAIA. In fact, Stiemke's yards per game total ranks in the top ten in the nation, regardless of affiliation or division.

No. 3 Keiser, the 2023 Regular Season Champion, led the field with 18 total honorees. The Seahawks earned 10 players on the first team and eight on the second team, and led all SUN teams with three positional honorees, winning the league's Offensive Lineman, Linebacker, and Defensive Back of the Year awards. 

No. 15 St. Thomas was just behind with 15 total award winners and two positional honorees - Receiver of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year. The Bobcats led on the first team with 12 recipients and earned three on second team. Florida Memorial tallied seven honorees, all landing on the second team. Ave Maria was next with six All-Conference players, three on the first team including Back of the Year Stiemke. Southeastern and Warner each notched four selections.

The Sun Conference will announce other major awards on Friday, including its Players of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year, Assistant Coach of the Year, and Champion of Character.

Ave Maria completed the 2023 season this past Saturday with a 4-6 record, including two conference victories - over Thomas and Webber International - and two non-conference wins - over Fort Lauderdale and Texas Lutheran.