13 Huskies earn All-Conference honors, UP natives Basanese, Nora earn First Team accolades
HOUGHTON, Mich. – For the first time since 2010, the Michigan Tech football team has the GLIAC Coach of the Year, as Dan Mettlach has been tabbed the 2025 GLIAC Coach of the Year, the league office announced on Friday.
In the same release, the Michigan Tech football team earned 13 All-GLIAC honors. This comes following the Huskies finishing in a tie for third in the GLIAC with a 4-3 record in GLIAC play and a 7-4 overall standing for the 2025 season–The first time the Huskies have seven or more wins in two-straight seasons in a decade.
The All-GLIAC honors of the Huskies were highlighted by five All-GLIAC First Team honorees, three Second Team selections and five All-GLIAC honorable mentions.
Mettlach, a Gwinn HS graduate who in his third season at the helm of his alma mater, led his team to a second-straight season finishing 7-4 overall. The Huskies earned their first ranked win over an opponent since Sep. 7, 2019, with a season and home-opening win against No. 16 Bemidji State on Aug. 29.
The Black & Gold also cracked the top-25 in week two of the season, checking in at No. 24, marking the first time Michigan Tech made the polls since Nov. 3, 2015.
Michigan Tech earned five First Team All-GLIAC selections with two on offense and three on defense. All five of the Huskies’ First Team honorees earned the selection for the first time in their careers in offensive lineman Brandon DeVries, wide receiver Nic Nora, defensive tackle Pierce Miller, linebacker Chase Koch and defensive back Dante Basanese.
DeVries hails from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and started all 11 games for the Huskies on the offensive line. Nora, a native of Kingsford, Michigan, led the team with five receiving touchdowns and 605 receiving yards on 45 catches. He also rushed 20 times for 135 yards and six touchdowns. Miller, a native of Spearfish, South Dakota, started all 11 games, finishing with 29 total tackles, 5.5 TFLs and two sacks for 12 yards. Koch, hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, led the Black & Gold with 105 total tackles, two interceptions, four breakups and two quarterback hurries. Koch finished the season ranked 19th in the country in total tackles per game and second in the GLIAC. Basanese, a native of Iron Mountain, Michigan, finished third on the squad with 61 total tackles, adding eight breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Veteran wide receiver Ethan Champney, defensive lineman Connor Hindenach and linebacker Porter Zeeman earned All-GLIAC Second Team accolades.
Champney, a native of Swan Valley, Michigan, had 43 catches for 587 and three touchdowns while rushing six times for 37 yards and a score. He also threw two touchdown passes totaling 70 yards. Hindenach, a native of Paw Paw, Michigan, recorded a team-leading five sacks (28 yards) with seven TFLs for 42 yards, totaling 34 tackles for the season. Hindenach ranked first in the GLIAC with two fumble recoveries and third in the league in sacks. Zeeman, hailing from Owosso, Michigan, finished second on the team in total tackles with 66, including 10 TFLs, two sacks, four quarterback hurries and an interception.
Quarterback Drew Collins, offensive lineman Matthew Daanen, offensive lineman Rowland Ball, kicker Avery Kucharski and running back Jake Rueff were named to the All-GLIAC honorable mention.
Collins, hailing from Montague, Michigan, had two rushing touchdowns on four carries to go with two receiving touchdowns on 12 receptions for 138 yards. Daanen, a local of De Pere, Wisconsin, appeared in all 11 games for the Huskies on the offensive line this season. Ball, a local of Lake City, Michigan, started all 11 games for the Huskies on the offensive line. Kucharski, from Portage, Michigan, went 9-for-12 on field goals in 2025 with a long of 44 yards while going 39-43 on extra points. He ranked first in the GLIAC in field goal percent (.750) and field goals per game (0.82). Rueff, a native of Lawton, Michigan, led the Black & Gold with 553 rushing yards on 135 carries–good for eighth in the GLIAC, scoring four touchdowns. He also had 14 receptions for 152 yards and two scores.
