HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Football team will look to build on a 2025 campaign that saw the Bantams finish 7-2 overall and claim a share of their 12th New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship when they open the 2026 season against Colby College on Saturday, September 19 at 1 p.m. at Jessee/Miller Field at Tansill Muldoon Stadium.

The 2026 season marks a historic new chapter for NESCAC football, as conference teams are eligible to participate in the NCAA Division III Football Championship for the first time. Trinity enters the season with an experienced core of returners from last year's championship squad, including All-NESCAC standouts on both sides of the ball.

Bantam Bytes

• Trinity finished the 2025 season with a 7-2 overall record and a 7-2 NESCAC mark, sharing the conference championship with Wesleyan. The Bantams have won at least a share of the NESCAC Championship in 12 seasons since 2000.
• The Bantams won seven of their final eight games after opening the season with a 13-6 loss at Colby.
• Head Coach Jeff Devanney enters his 21st season leading the Bantams, holding a career record of 135-25 at Trinity. Devanney owns a 135-25 record over 20 seasons, holding the program's highest winning percentage (.844). Devanney ranks third in program history in career wins, sitting behind Don Miller (174) and Dan Jesse (150). 
• The 2025 Bantams ranked among the NESCAC's top teams offensively and defensively, averaging 30.6 points and 385.4 total yards per game while allowing just 15.0 points and 273.6 yards per game.
• Trinity's offense produced 39 touchdowns, including 18 rushing touchdowns and 19 passing touchdowns, while the defense held opponents to 18 total touchdowns over nine games.
• The Bantams converted 48.2 percent of their third-down opportunities and 75.0 percent of their fourth-down attempts in 2025.
• Senior quarterback Jaxon Carroll returns after taking over the starting role during the 2025 season. Carroll completed 138 of 227 passes for 1,949 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing six interceptions. He averaged 216.6 passing yards per game and posted a 60.8-percent completion rate.
• Carroll enjoyed several standout performances in 2025, including career highs of 302 passing yards at Williams and three touchdown passes against both Hamilton and Middlebury. He also threw a career-long 80-yard completion against Tufts.
• Junior quarterback Cam Holland returns after appearing in six games in 2025. Holland completed six of eight passes for 42 yards and a touchdown while earning NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference honors.
• The Bantams will look to replace the production of 2025 leading rusher Tyler DiNapoli, but return a talented group of backs led by senior Jack Tosone and junior Josh Woodford.
• Tosone rushed for 292 yards and five touchdowns in six games in 2025, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also caught 14 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
• Woodford emerged as one of Trinity's biggest big-play threats last season, rushing for 226 yards on just 19 carries while scoring three touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 11.9 yards per carry, including a 75-yard touchdown run against Bowdoin, the longest Trinity rushing play of the season.
• Graduate student Nolan O'Brien returns for another season after earning First Team All-NESCAC honors at wide receiver and return specialist in 2025. O'Brien led Trinity with 44 receptions for 570 yards and five touchdowns while adding 61 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
• O'Brien also continued to be one of the conference's most dangerous return specialists, averaging 15.7 yards on 15 punt returns with a 79-yard punt-return touchdown. He finished 2025 with 887 all-purpose yards.
• O'Brien was selected to the D3football.com Region 1 Third Team at both wide receiver and return specialist, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-Region recognition at two positions in the same season.
• Senior Darison Hooper returns after catching 23 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns in 2025. His 17.4 yards per reception ranked among the NESCAC's top marks.
• Graduate student Ben Banatao, junior Jovon Mobley, senior Nick Behrens, and a developing group of younger receivers will provide additional targets in the passing game.
• Senior tight end Jamieson Hodlin returns after contributing six receptions for 92 yards, averaging 15.3 yards per catch, and two touchdowns in 2025.
• Trinity will need to replace two decorated members of last year's offensive line in Brandon Baker and Christopher DeLeon-Kollmer, both of whom earned First Team All-NESCAC honors. Baker was also named D3football.com Region 1 First Team All-Region, while DeLeon-Kollmer earned Second Team All-Region recognition.
• Seniors John Curran and Cortez Cole return to anchor an offensive line that helped Trinity average 154.2 rushing yards per game in 2025. The Bantams also produced a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns.
• Senior Aidan Murphy provides additional experience and versatility along the offensive and defensive lines after seeing significant action on both sides of the ball in 2025.
• Defensively, Trinity returns two of its top linebackers from a year ago in junior Lincoln Moore and senior Ethan Krauss.
• Moore enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign, leading Trinity with 58 tackles while adding 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and six quarterback hurries. He earned First Team All-NESCAC honors and was also named to the NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference Team.
• Krauss earned Second Team All-NESCAC recognition after recording 48 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
• Senior Shane Mosia had a breakout 2025 campaign, recording 54 tackles, including a team-high 32 solo stops, along with five pass breakups and a blocked punt. He earned Second Team All-NESCAC honors and NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference recognition.
• The Bantams will look to replace several key contributors along the defensive front, including Second Team All-NESCAC selection Matt Hickey, who recorded 3.5 sacks in 2025.
• Seniors Wesley Selmani, Aidan Murphy and Luke Ventura return along the defensive line, while several younger players will compete for expanded roles.
• Trinity's secondary will feature a mix of returning experience and new contributors following the graduation of Charlie Cooper, Jason Irizarry Jr. and Alec Medwar. Cooper finished 2025 with four interceptions and 13 pass breakups, while Irizarry Jr. also intercepted four passes.
• Junior Bryce Ferrell returns after recording two interceptions and 14 tackles in 2025, while Shane Lewis, Mike O'Connor, Sam Petrosino and other returning defensive backs will compete for increased playing time.
• Trinity will also look to continue developing its place-kicking game with sophomore Max Wallace handling the kicking duties in 2026 after the graduation of Jack Sokol.
• The 2026 campaign represents the first season in NESCAC history in which conference teams are eligible for the NCAA Division III Football Championship, adding a new postseason opportunity to the league's traditional championship race.

Schedule

• Saturday, September 19: vs. Colby – 1:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 44-14
  • 2025 Meeting: L, 13-6
• Saturday, September 26: at Bates – 1:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 43-7
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 30-13
• Saturday, October 3: vs. Williams – 1:30 PM
  • All-Time Record: 42-39-2
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 34-28 (OT)
• Saturday, October 10: vs. Hamilton – 1:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 45-11-1
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 49-0
• Saturday, October 17: at Tufts – 1:30 PM
  • All-Time Record: 48-19-1
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 41-14
• Saturday, October 24: vs. Bowdoin – 1:30 PM
  • All-Time Record: 45-6-2
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 45-3
• Saturday, October 31: at Middlebury – 1:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 34-13
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 28-26
• Saturday, November 7: at Amherst – 1:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 51-60-9
  • 2025 Meeting: W, 14-7
• Saturday, November 14: vs. Wesleyan – 12:00 PM
  • All-Time Record: 65-56-1
  • 2025 Meeting: L, 31-28