Entering a new season, the Gridiron Club has several new additions with young alumni joining the Board of Directors.

One of the new members is Matt Wrather ‘25. 

The recent grad is fresh off an All-American campaign as one of the top centers for the program in recent memory. 

Wrather compiled quite the impressive resume for John Carroll Football during his awe-inspiring career on the offensive line. The Powell, Ohio native garnered First Team All-OAC honors three times in a row, leading to a pair of OAC Ken Wable Offensive Lineman of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024.

On a national level, Wrather stood as an All-American following his junior and senior years. In 2024, Wrather accepted All-American accolades from D3football.com, AFCA, the Associated Press, and Walter Camp. Prestigiously, the Olentangy Liberty grad was named the 2024 Rimington Award as the top center in all of NCAA Division III.

Wrather’s work off the field was nothing short of outstanding as well. Most impressively, Wrather was a member of the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team, one of just 22 football student-athletes from across the country to be honored. His work in the community and in serving others, most especially as a key leader of Jesuit Day of Service, won him this accolade. This May, he became the first football player to win the Roman-Canning Award for Student Athlete Community Service.

As a Business major, his high GPA helped him win Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Communicators twice. Wrather garnered Academic All-OAC status three times. 

To conclude his career, Wrather represented JCU as the school’s male winner of the OAC Clyde Lamb Award, the top honor an OAC student-athlete can receive. Matt graduated from JCU on May 18.