CLEVELAND, OH – DePauw senior wide receiver Robby Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean?) and John Carroll graduate quarterback Nick Semptimphelter (Franklin, TN/Battle Ground Academy) have been selected as semifinalists for the 2025 Gagliardi Trophy, presented by Stearns Bank, D3football.com announced Friday, December 5. The pair of North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standouts are among 15 football student-athletes nationwide recognized for excellence in athletics, academics, and community service.
 
The Gagliardi Trophy, established in 1993, is presented annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division III football and honors the legacy of longtime Saint John’s head coach John Gagliardi, the winningest coach in college football history.
 
A record-setting wide receiver and one of Division III’s premier scholar-athletes, Ballentine delivered another exceptional season for the Tigers, finishing with 92 receptions for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns, ranking second nationally in receiving yards, seventh in touchdown receptions, eighth in receiving yards per game (109.50), and 14th in receptions per game (7.67). A finalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, he carries a 3.92 GPA as a biochemistry major. He is a two-time Dr. Gordon Collins Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection and has earned First Team Academic All-America honors to go along with multiple institutional academic awards. A two-time First Team All-NCAC selection and 2025 NCAC Offensive Player of the Year, Ballentine holds DePauw’s career receiving touchdown record and has been central to three-straight NCAC titles and four consecutive Division III playoff appearances.
 
Semptimphelter has emerged as one of the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks, entering the postseason as the NCAA leader across all divisions with an 81.6 percent completion rate. Through 12 games, he still holds the nation’s best completion percentage (79.3) at all levels and ranks sixth in passing efficiency (185.4), 12th in passing yards (3,060), and 13th in touchdowns (31) in Division III. The signal-caller guided the Blue Streaks to back-to-back NCAA Playoff appearances, including a 10-7 double-overtime victory over Mount Union in the third round, JCU’s first win in the matchup since 2016. Semptimphelter is a two-time first-team all-conference honoree and was selected as a semifinalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy®.
 
SELECTION INFO
The Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee is comprised of Division III coaches, administrators, regional voters, and national panelists. Voting also includes the D3football.com fan vote, which counts as one official ballot in the overall process.

The 2025 Gagliardi Trophy finalists will be announced during a live show on Thursday, December 18, at 4:00 p.m. ET on D3football.com. The winner will be revealed on D3football.com during the week of the NCAA Division III national championship game, with additional details to be announced.