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| Photos by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com; Doug Sasse, d3photography.com |
Mackenzie Balanganayi and Wyatt Smith lead the D3football.com 2021 All-Region 6 team. Balanganayi was named Region 6 Defensive Player of the Year, while Smith was named the Region 6 Offensive Player of the Year.
UW-Whitewater coach Kevin Bullis, who has led the Warhawks to a 13-0 record and a berth in the national semifinals, is the Region 6 Coach of the Year. It’s his first selection as a D3football.com regional Coach of the Year and he is the third Warhawks coach to win a regional Coach of the Year award.
NCAA Division III realigned Division III football into six regions in 2021. Region 6 includes the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Northwest Conference, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Balanganayi is a regional Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive time, after being named such in the West Region in 2019. A senior from Palatine, Illinois, the WIAC defensive player of the year has posted a team-best 11 quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles while compiling eight tackles for loss and six sacks.
Smith is the third Linfield quarterback to be named Offensive Player of the Year for the region by D3football.com. A senior from McMinnville, Oregon, he led the Wildcats to an 11-1 record and a berth in the national quarterfinals by throwing for 3,717 yards and 43 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Smith averaged 309.8 yards per game and completed 71.3% of his passes. He also ran for six touchdowns.
The teams, selected in balloting by Region 6 sports information directors and D3football.com staff, were chosen from 165 nominations by full Division III member schools. A total of 76 players were chosen. Players nominated for All-Region are eligible to be considered for D3football.com All-America honors, which will be announced the evening of Dec. 17, in D3football.com’s pregame coverage for Stagg Bowl XLVIII.
Previous years’ award winners from 2005-2019 for All-West Region can be found at:
https://www.d3football.com/awards/all-region/all-time-west
2021 D3football.com All-Region 6 Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Wyatt Smith, QB, Linfield
Defensive Player of the Year: Mackenzie Balanganayi, DE, UW-Whitewater
Coach of the Year: Kevin Bullis, UW-Whitewater
| First Team Offense | |||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Yr. | Hometown | |
| QB | Wyatt Smith | Linfield | Sr. | McMinnville, Ore. | |
| RB | Alex Peete | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Ringwood, Ill. | |
| RB | Paul Garrett | Greenville | Jr. | Goodwater, Ala. | |
| WR | Ravi Alston | St. John’s | Sr. | Lake Elsinore, Calif. | |
| WR | Ryan Wisniewski | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Sparta, Wis. | |
| TE | Alex Larson | St. John’s | Jr. | Woodbury, Minn. | |
| T | Kyle Gannon | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Waukesha, Wis. | |
| G | Douglas Kosch | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Bridgeview, Ill. | |
| C | Nick Neumann | St. John’s | Sr. | Inver Grove Heights, Minn. | |
| G | Julien Sears | Linfield | Sr. | Spokane Valley, Wash. | |
| T | Jacob Lyle | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Sr. | Ventura, Calif. | |
| K | Brady Frantal | UW-Eau Claire | Fr. | Appleton, Wis. | |
| RET | Jake Simuncak | UW-La Crosse | Sr. | S. Milwaukee, Wis. | |
| First Team Defense | |||||
| DE | Travis Swanson | Linfield | Sr. | Hailey, Idaho | |
| DT | Michael Wozniak | St. John’s | Jr. | New Hope, Minn. | |
| DT | Zachary Jakes | Gustavus Adolphus | Sr. | N. Mankato, Minn. | |
| DE | Mackenzie Balanganayi | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Palatine, Ill. | |
| LB | Dillon Keefe | Chapman | Sr. | Orange, Calif. | |
| LB | Ryan Liszka | UW-Whitewater | Jr. | Naperville, Ill. | |
| LB | Kameron Kryzanski | UW-Stevens Point | Sr. | Thorp, Wis. | |
| CB | Egon Hein | UW-Whitewater | So. | St. Charles, Ill. | |
| S | Nate Farm | Bethel | So. | Arden Hills, Minn. | |
| S | Elijah Alt | UW-La Crosse | Sr. | Lone Rock, Wis. | |
| CB | Tavion Swanson | Bethel | Sr. | Burlington, Wash. | |
| P | Tyler Huettel | St. Olaf | Fr. | McKinney, Texas | |
| ST | John Newton | Macalester | Sr. | Highland Village, Texas | |
| Second Team Offense | |||||
| QB | Max Meylor | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Mt. Horeb, Wis. | |
| RB | Joey Stutzman | UW-La Crosse | Jr. | Lake Zurich, Ill. | |
| RB | Henry Trost | St. John’s | Sr. | Lindstrom, Minn. | |
| WR | Dominic Smith | Augsburg | Fr. | White Bear Lake, Minn. | |
| WR | Levy Hamer | UW-Stout | Jr. | Chicago, Ill. | |
| TE | Ben Beise | UW-River Falls | Sr. | Loretto, Minn. | |
| T | Tyler Johnson | St. John’s | Sr. | Willmar, Minn. | |
| G | Jack Fiedler | Bethel | Sr. | St. Michael, Minn. | |
| C | Matt Metcalf | Linfield | Sr. | Eugene, Ore. | |
| G | Hunter Schultz | UW-Oshkosh | Sr. | Brooklyn, Wis. | |
| T | Alex Waddell | Chapman | Sr. | Portola Valley, Calif. | |
| K | Andrew Abegglen | Gustavus Adolphus | Jr. | Mound, Minn. | |
| RET | Travis Brown | Carleton | Sr. | St. Michael, Minn. | |
| Second Team Defense | |||||
| DE | Seth Morem | St. John’s | Sr. | Red Wing, Minn. | |
| DT | Chase Lydig | Linfield | Sr. | Buckley, Wash. | |
| DT | Turjon McLaurin | Greenville | So. | Stockton, Calif. | |
| DE | Ted Androli | UW-River Falls | Sr. | Kenyon, Minn. | |
| LB | Kyle Kornovich | St. John’s | Sr. | Rogers, Minn. | |
| LB | Jaylen Gonzales | Whitworth | Sr. | Wai'anea, Hawaii | |
| LB | Carson Dekam | Gustavus Adolphus | So. | Owatonna, Minn. | |
| CB | Tyler Sitton | Linfield | Sr. | McMinnville, Ore. | |
| S | Mark McGrath | UW-Whitewater | Sr. | Lisle, Ill. | |
| S | Scott Tinsley | Redlands | Jr. | Capitola, Calif. | |
| CB | Colten Chelin | Whitworth | Sr. | Kennewick, Wash. | |
| P | Jason Santoni | George Fox | Sr. | Central Point, Ore. | |
| Third Team Offense | |||||
| QB | Jaran Roste | Bethel | Jr. | Alexandria, Minn. | |
| RB | Justin Edwards | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Fr. | E. Hampton, Conn. | |
| RB | Austin Belot | UW-Eau Claire | Sr. | Neenah, Wis. | |
| WR | Rex Desso | Macalester | Sr. | Evergreen, Colo. | |
| WR | Jake Simuncak | UW-La Crosse | Sr. | S. Milwaukee, Wis. | |
| TE | Justin Kasuboski | UW-Oshkosh | Sr. | Omro, Wis. | |
| T | Alex Klecker | UW-River Falls | So. | River Falls, Wis. | |
| G | Brett Schuler | George Fox | Sr. | Bakersfield, Calif. | |
| C | Mike Olsen | UW-Oshkosh | Sr. | Hartland, Wis. | |
| G | Travis Sinclair | Bethel | Jr. | Rogers, Minn. | |
| T | Andrew Owczarzak | Martin Luther | Sr. | Bay City, Mich. | |
| K | Jason Santoni | George Fox | Sr. | Central Point, Ore. | |
| RET | Justin Montijo | George Fox | Sr. | Hesperia, Calif. | |
| Third Team Defense | |||||
| DE | Keaton Adams | Willamette | Sr. | Colo. Springs, Colo. | |
| DT | Nick Severson | Linfield | So. | Sherwood, Ore. | |
| DT | Metoriah Faoliu | St. John’s | Sr. | Wildomar, Calif. | |
| DE | Kyle Gallagher | UW-Whitewater | Jr. | Niles, Ill. | |
| LB | Isaac Simons | Carleton | Jr. | Oconomowoc, Wis. | |
| LB | Tory Jandrin | UW-Oshkosh | Jr. | Forestville, Wis. | |
| LB | Josh Poppleton | George Fox | Sr. | Beaverton, Ore. | |
| CB | Ezekiel Sundberg | Gustavus Adolphus | Sr. | Lakewood, Colo. | |
| S | Travis Brown | Carleton | Sr. | St. Michael, Minn. | |
| S | Tyler Bergeron | Linfield | Sr. | Battle Ground, Wash. | |
| CB | Lucas Schwin | George Fox | Sr. | Eugene, Ore. | |
| P | Owen Tapia | Chapman | Jr. | Eastvale, Calif. | |