NAPERVILLE --- Earning his second national major award, North Central College defensive lineman John Sullivan was named the D3football.com Defensive Player of the Year, just the second Cardinal in program history to be awarded the honor on defense.

Sullivan swept all four All-American selections while being one of just five players in Division III to be named to First Team All-America teams this season. He also earned the Associated Press's Division III Defensive Player of the Year. On the season, Sullivan tallied 73 tackles, 22 tackles for loss for a total of 94 yards, eight sacks, 21 quarterback hurries, and eight pass breakups.

This is the fourth straight season a Cardinal player earned a major honor from D3football.com with quarterback Luke Lehnen being named the Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and 2023 while running back Ethan Greenfield was chosen for the award in 2022. Matt Wenger was named the 2010 Defensive Player of the Year, a first on either side of the ball for North Central.

D3football.com also announced its final rankings of the season, with North Central closing out the year at No. 2. UW-River Falls finished in the top spot with Johns Hopkins University, Bethel University and John Carroll University rounding out the top five. The Cardinals defeated the No. 4, 5, 7 (Wheaton College) and No. 8 (UW-La Crosse) teams this season.