Seven Wildcats earn All-Big Sky honors

OGDEN - Weber State football placed seven players on the 2025 Big Sky All-Conference team, announced Wednesday by the conference. The all-conference teams are selected by the league's head coaches.

Gavin Ortega and Montae Pate were named to the All-Big Sky first team. Noah Bennee, Sloan Calder, and Matt Herron were named to the second team, and Mayson Hitchens and Angel King earned honorable mention honors.

2025 Weber State Football All-Big Sky Conference selections

First Team

Gavin Ortega	Senior	Offensive Line
Montae Pate	Junior	Cornerback

Second Team

Noah Bennee	Senior	Tight End
Sloan Calder	Senior	Kicker
Matt Herron	Junior	Defensive Tackle

Honorable Mention

Mayson Hitchens	Junior	Linebacker
Angel King	Senior	Safety

Senior captain Gavin Ortega capped his Wildcat career by earning All-Big Sky first team honors after entering the year as both a preseason All-America and preseason All-Big Sky pick. Ortega, a native of Bellingham, Washington, started all 12 games and anchored an offensive line that allowed just 14 sacks, the third-fewest in the Big Sky.

This is the second year for Ortega to earn All-Big Sky honors. He earned second-team honors in 2024. He finished his career playing in 41 games at Weber State.

Junior cornerback Montae Pate earned All-Big Sky honors for the first time in his career as he was named to the first team. Pate, a junior from Tacoma, Washington, started all 12 games for Weber State and led the 'Cats with nine pass breakups and one interception. The nine breakups rank 10th in WSU single-season history.

Pate also finished fourth on the team with 53 tackles and ranked second in solo tackles with 40. He also had five tackles for loss, along with the interception in the win at Portland State.

Pate has played in 34 games over four seasons at Weber State. He has 93 total tackles with six tackles for loss. He also has 17 pass breakups, which ranks as the ninth-most in WSU history. He also has two career interceptions.

Senior tight end Noah Bennee also earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career as he was named to the second team. Bennee, a native of Holladay, Utah, finished the season third on the Wildcat team in both receptions and receiving yards. In 11 games, he recorded 23 catches for 264 yards, averaging 11.5 yards per reception, which is second-highest on the team.

In two years with the Wildcats, Bennee played in 22 games and had 29 catches for 308 yards and a touchdown.

Senior kicker Sloan Calder also earned second team honors, the first of his career. Calder had one of the best seasons for a kicker in WSU history. The Morgan, Utah native finished the season ranked second in the nation with 18 made field goals. He was 18 of 21 on the season, and the 18 field goals are the seventh-most in a season in WSU history. Calder made 12 of his final 13 field goal attempts. He also ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage at 85.7 percent, which is also the third-best percentage in a season in WSU history.

Matt Herron also earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career as he was named to the second team as a defensive lineman. Herron started all 12 games and led the Wildcats with nine tackles for loss. Herron added 3.5 sacks, finished the season with 46 total tackles, and contributed four quarterback hurries along with one forced fumble.

The Salt Lake City, Utah native has played in 35 games over the last three seasons with the Wildcats. He has 92 total tackles with 20 tackles for loss. He also has 6.5 sacks with nine pass breakups.

Junior linebacker Mayson Hitchens also earned All-Big Sky honors for the first time in his career, earning honorable mention honors. Hitchens led Weber State with 92 tackles on the year, nearly 30 more than any other Wildcat. His 7.6 tackles per game average ranks seventh in the Big Sky. He started all 12 games and also had six tackles for loss, fifth-most on the team. He had at least five tackles in every game this season.

Hitchens, a native of Orange, California, has played in 28 games in his three-year Wildcat career and has 148 tackles with eight tackles for loss.

Senior Angel King also earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors. King played in 11 games for the 'Cats and finished third on the team in tackles with 60 on the season, including 39 solo tackles. He also had two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

King, a native of Los Angeles, finished his two-year Wildcat career playing in 22 games and had 95 total tackles with three interceptions, three tackles for loss, four pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries.

Weber State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Noah Bennee

Sloan Calder

Matt Herron

Mayson Hitchens

Angel King

Gavin Ortega

Montae Pate

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