TRAFFORD, Pa. (April 14) -- Thiel College Men's Volleyball middle Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Player of the Year Tuesday evening, as announced during the All-PAC Selection Show on the PAC Sports Network.
Proudfoot, along with Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin), earned All-PAC First Team honors. Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) and Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) garnered Second-Team laurels, while George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) was named an Honorable Mention.
Proudfoot, who was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region II Team yesterday, becomes just the second player in program history to earn conference player of the year honors, joining Oesterling, who accomplished the feat last season. He is now a two-time All-PAC First Team selection.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Proudfoot ranks second in DIII and third nationally with a .459 hitting percentage and is on pace to break his own program single-season record of .413 set last season. His career .410 hitting percentage leads all active NCAA players. In a sweep of Mount Union earlier this season, the senior posted the second-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history, hitting .867 with 13 kills and no errors on 15 swings.
His 271 career blocks rank third in program history, while his 86 solo blocks are second-most all-time. Proudfoot also earned PAC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice and Defensive Player of the Week recognition once this season.
Oesterling, the 2025 PAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, joined Proudfoot as the first players in program history to earn AVCA All-Region honors.
Now a two-time All-PAC First Team selection, Oesterling became just the second player in school history to record back-to-back 300-plus kill seasons. His 377 kills this season rank fourth-most in program history, while his 802 career kills sit third all-time.
A five-time PAC Offensive Player of the Week, Oesterling tied the Thiel single-match record with 27 kills in a five-set win at Saint Vincent on April 1. He currently ranks second in the nation with a school-record 67 aces this season.
Lizanich, an All-PAC Honorable Mention selection last season, delivered a breakout year in Greenville, setting career highs in hitting percentage (.399) and blocks (89). He enters the NCAA Tournament ranked second nationally with 34 solo blocks.
His .305 career hitting percentage ranks third in program history, while his 192 career blocks are ninth-most all-time.
Zimmerman earned his first All-PAC honor in his senior season. He broke the program's career aces record with his 95th in the first set against Geneva on Feb. 20 and now sits at 117 career aces.
Zimmerman also posted a career-best .253 hitting percentage (min. 500 swings) and set career highs in both aces (53) and blocks (40).
Schwalm IV led all PAC freshmen with 159 kills while hitting .270 from the right side, while his 53 blocks ranked ninth in the conference.
He recorded three matches with at least 10 kills this season, including a career-high 14 on .458 in a win at Penn State Behrend on Feb. 5.
Thiel will take on Dominican University (Ill.) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament Play-In Round at Carthage University in Kenosha, Wis. The Tomcats enter the tournament as back-to-back PAC champions and are making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, becoming the first program in school history to do so.
