COMMERCE – The 2017 National Champion Texas A&M University-Commerce football team has been ranked No. 7 nationally in the Lindy's Sports College Football Preseason Poll. Lion tight end Vincent Hobbs has been named a first team preseason All-American, while kicker Kristov Martinez has been named a second team preseason All-American.
 
The Lions went 14-1 with five playoff victories to win the national title over preseason No. 1 West Florida. A total of 43 letterwinners and 14 starters – five on offense and nine on defense – return for the Lions, who closed the season on a 10-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in Division II.
 
The Lions are entering their sixth season under head coach Colby Carthel and are looking to make their fourth consecutive NCAA Division II Championship appearance and sixth straight postseason appearance.
 
Hobbs – a senior from Mesquite - was a Don Hansen's Football Gazette second team All-American and first team all-region selection, as well as an all-Lone Star Conference first team selection. He had 64 receptions for 785 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017, ranking third in the LSC in receptions, sixth in receiving yardage, and eighth in touchdown receptions. He caught both touchdown passes in the 20-6 victory over Winona State in the regional quarterfinal and had touchdown catches in playoff wins against Central Washington and Harding.
 
Martinez - a senior from Edinburg - is on pace to challenge LSC & NCAA records after one of the top seasons in program history. Martinez made 24-of-28 field goal attempts in the 2017 season, tying the LSC record for most field goals in a season and becoming just the sixth Division II player to have 24 field goals in a season. He is now 54-of-71 on field goal attempts in his career, which ranks 14th in Division II history. The Division II career record is 82 made field goals. Martinez is the Division II active career leader in made field goals, and ranks third in all NCAA divisions behind Wisconsin's Rafael Gaglianone (60) and Toledo's Jameson Vest (57). Those three kickers are the only NCAA players entering 2018 with more than 50 field goals to their credit. Martinez also connected on 65-of-66 PAT attempts, and has made his last 52 in succession. For his career, Martinez has made 176-of-183 PAT attempts and is the Division II active career leader. Martinez also excelled in the kickoff game, averaging 54.9 yards per kickoff with 44 touchbacks on 101 kickoffs. The Lions led the nation in kickoff return defense, as their opponents averaged only 11.67 yards per return. Martinez' 44 touchbacks tied the team for the second-most in the nation with Minnesota State behind Indianapolis (47).
 
The Lions are slated to play two teams in the Lindy's Preseason Top 25 in the regular season. The annual CommUniverCity Day game will be played on Saturday, September 22, against No. 13 Colorado State-Pueblo. The Lions will play No. 8 Midwestern State on the road on Saturday, October 6.
 
Season tickets are available for the Lions' six-game home schedule, which kicks off on Thursday, August 30 against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the annual battle for the Chennault Cup and Student Appreciation Night.  General admission seating is available for $60 for the season, with limited chairback season tickets available for $80. Season tickets are available online at WeAreLionsTix.com or by calling Lion Sales and Service at (903) 468-8756.
 
All chairback season ticket holders are encouraged to consider philanthropic support of our 424 talented student-athletes with a gift to the Lion Champions Fund. For information on the LCF, please contact Taylor Phelps at (903) 886-5554.
 
LINDY'S PRESEASON TOP 25

Rk	Team	2017 Record
1	West Florida	11-4
2	Indiana (Pa.)	13-1
3	Ferris State	11-2
4	Fort Hays State	11-1
5	Northwest Missouri State	9-3
6	Minnesota State	13-1
7	A&M-COMMERCE	14-1
8	Midwestern State	10-1
9	West Alabama	10-3
10	Central Missouri	9-3
11	Central Washington	11-1
12	Indianapolis	11-1
13	Colorado State-Pueblo	9-3
14	California (Pa.)	9-3
15	Ashland	11-2
16	Valdosta State	5-4
17	Colorado School of Mines	7-4
18	Edinboro	7-4
19	Assumption	11-2
20	Carson-Newman	8-3
21	Humboldt State	8-2
22	Bowie State	9-2
23	Southwest Baptist	5-5
24	Hillsdale	7-4
25	Adams State	4-7

 
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos	Player	Yr	School
QB	Amir Hall	Sr.	Bowie State
RB	Marc Jones	Sr.	Gannon
RB	Cameron Mayberry	So.	Colorado School of Mines
WR	Weston Carr	Jr.	Azusa Pacific
WR	Austin Ryan	So.	Bentley
TE	Vincent Hobbs	Sr.	A&M-COMMERCE
OL	Frank Ball	Jr.	Virginia State
OL	Devon Johnson	Sr.	Ferris State
OL	Nic Sawyer	Sr.	Ferris State
OL	Colin McAllister	Jr.	Indiana (Pa.)
OL	A.J. Roland	Sr.	Midwestern State
AP	Deonte Harris	Sr.	Assumption
K	Casey Bednarski	Sr.	Minnesota State

 
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Pos	Player	Yr	School
DL	James Prater, Jr.	Sr.	Ashland
DL	John Williamson	Sr.	West Florida
DL	Markus Jones	Sr.	Angelo State
DL	Jake Klinger	Sr.	Bloomsburg
LB	Terry Samuel	Sr.	West Alabama
LB	Brandon Payer	Sr.	Colorado State-Pueblo
LB	Kirby Hora	Sr.	Augustana
DB	Darius Williams	Sr.	Colorado State-Pueblo
DB	Tyler Hasty	Sr.	Central Washington
DB	Sterling Hammond	Jr.	Virginia Union
DB	Doyin Jbowu	Sr.	Fort Hays State
P	Zach Gaines	So.	West Alabama

 
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Pos	Player	Yr	School
QB	Mike Beaudry	So.	West Florida
RB	Walter Fletcher	Jr.	Edinboro
RB	Marty Carter	Sr.	Grand Valley State
WR	Ryan Feiss	Sr.	Shepherd
WR	Chad Hovasse	Sr.	Adams State
TE	Seth Hebert	Sr.	Central Missouri
OL	Craig McCorkle	Jr.	California (Pa.)
OL	James Moore	Sr.	Central Washington
OL	Zach Flott	Sr.	Northwest Missouri State
OL	Innis Claud V	Jr.	Delta State
OL	Phil McDowell	Jr.	Carson-Newman
AP	O.J. Walker	So.	Southeastern Oklahoma State
K	Kristov Martinez	Sr.	A&M-COMMERCE

 
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Pos	Player	Yr	School
DL	Austin Eskew	Sr.	Northwest Missouri State
DL	MarQuel Shelton	So.	Miles
DL	Tershawn Wharton	Jr.	Missouri S&T
DL	Kahzin Daniels	Sr.	Charleston (W. Va.)
LB	Garrett Jackson	Sr.	Adams State
LB	Tyler Morrissey	Sr.	West Chester
LB	Justin Jackson	Sr.	Angelo State
DB	Zuril Hendrick	Sr.	Edinboro
DB	Cory Hanger	Sr.	Southwest Baptist
DB	Darius Williams	Jr.	Carson-Newman
DB	Stephen Turner	Sr.	Fairmont State
P	Dante Brown	Jr.	Fort Hays State