CHICAGO, Ill. – Emory & Henry University junior kicker Trace Butcher has been selected to the Fred Mitchell Award Watchlist for the 2024 season. The award is presented to the top placekicker from the non-FBS divisions for excellence on the football field and community service throughout the year.

Butcher is one of 61 players nationwide which includes a total of 18 kickers from NCAA Division II to be in consideration for the award in December. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University (Ohio) Athletic Hall of Fame, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. 

Named to the SAC All-Mountain Division Team in 2023 and a 2024 Preseason SAC All-Mountain selection, Butcher led the South Atlantic Conference last year in field goals per game (1.09). He was also selected as the SAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week on September 11, 2023 after hitting four extra points and three field goals at Bluefield State.

Butcher entered the 2024 season with 26 career field goals made in 36 attempts (72.2%) with a long of 50 yards at Catawba last fall (Sept. 30, 2023). He is 58-for-61 (95.1%) on extra points over the past two years and has a career-long streak of 30 in a row. He has scored a total of 136 points and had led the team in scoring the past two seasons.

In addition to the annual watchlist released each August, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December. The school of the award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy is presented each February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

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