Kutztown University back in Top 10 to open season
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Benjamin F. Pierce — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Defending PSAC champ Kutztown will open the season ranked No. 7 in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll.
The Golden Bears went 11-1 last year and won their second straight PSAC championship, third in the last four seasons and fourth overall in program history. They earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth in the last six.
Kutztown was ranked fifth in the final AFCA poll last year.
Defending national champion Ferris State leads the preseason poll with 30 first place votes. Harding is second, followed by Grand Valley State.
PSAC rival Slippery Rock in fourth after earning one first place vote. Central Oklahoma rounds out the top five and is followed by: No. 6 Colorado State-Pueblo, Kutztown, No. 8 West Florida, No. 9 Pittsburg State and No. 10 Western Colorado.
All-League linebacker Eden Johnson of Gov. Mifflin is one of six Berks grads on the Kutztown roster. The 5-10 redshirt junior is joined by senior linebacker Brandon Strausser of Gov. Mifflin; senior kicker Nate Millard of Daniel Boone; redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jack Dendall of Wilson; redshirt freshman defensive lineman Kabine Toure of Gov. Mifflin; and freshman quarterback Evan Myers of Twin Valley.
Slippery Rock and Kutztown are the only representatives from the PSAC and Super Region One in the top 10. The only other PSAC team listed in the Top 25 is California, at No. 15.
Indiana and East Stroudsburg received votes.
Other teams from Super Region One in the poll include Charleston at No. 14 and Virginia Union at No. 19.
Kutztown’s season kicks off Sept. 4 with a non-conference game against Assumption at 7 p.m. Andre Reed Stadium.
The Golden Bears will attempt to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since the PSAC Championship Game was reintroduced in 2008. They were ranked No. 1 in the Eastern Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
They have finished with a winning record in all 10 seasons under head coach Jim Clements, with four 10-plus-win seasons in the last five years. Clements, a four-time AFCA DII Region 1 Coach of the Year (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024), is the winningest coach in program history and just 10 wins shy of 100.
The Golden Bears return seven starters from a defense that led the PSAC and NCAA Division II by allowing just 10.2 points per game. It was the fewest points per game allowed by KU since moving to a 10-game schedule in 1976 and fewest allowed overall dating back to 1964.
