CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Bates junior captain Ryan Rozich is one of four linebackers named to the 2025 Division II/III All-New England Team, announced Monday by the New England Football Writers Association. 

This is just the latest honor for Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.), who was named first team All-NESCAC on Nov. 19. He is the only NESCAC linebacker, and one of five players from the conference overall, to be named All-New England.

Rozich's 109 total tackles ranked first in the NESCAC and his 12.1 tackles per game is good for sixth in all of NCAA Division III. Rozich also tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss. Besides tackling, Rozich did a little bit of everything for Bates. He picked off a pass and blocked a kick at Trinity, recovered a fumble in wins over Amherst and Tufts, sacked the quarterback against Colby, and broke up a pass against Wesleyan and Hamilton. 

He showed off his versatility in a 35-28 win over Tufts on Oct. 11. Despite being known for his play at linebacker, Rozich was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week at long snapper and was also honored as the NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week. When senior long snapper Domenic Virelli (Melrose Park, Ill.) went down with an injury against the Jumbos, Rozich stepped in. He hadn't handled long snapping since high school but Rozich didn't allow the Bobcats to miss a beat, handling the duties on three punts and one PAT. Crucially, he was able to recover a muffed punt deep in Tufts territory late in the fourth quarter, setting up a Bates touchdown.

This marks the second straight year Bates football has had a player named to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team. Classmate Ryan Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) was named to the team last season at running back. Rozich is the first Bates defensive player since linebacker Mark Upton '17 in 2015 to be named to the All-New England team.

The All-New England team will be honored at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, December 11, at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center. Reservations must be made no later than Friday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. and may be made at newenglandfootballwriters.com/captains-%26-awards-banquet. Tickets are $75/person. Reservations are made on-line only and are non-refundable. The banquet is open to anyone that wishes to attend.