Ryan Gardner, Linfield Sports Communications

Wildcats reload for 2026 behind an experienced core

By Chase Fisk, Director of Athletic Communications

09/04

Linfield football enters the 2026 season with an experienced group of playmakers returning on both sides of the ball as the Wildcats look to return to the top of the Northwest Conference. Linfield brings back First Team All-NWC quarterback Luke McNabb to direct the offense while an accomplished defensive group includes returning All-Americans Kenyon Johnson and Cade Johannsen, along with All-NWC standouts Hudson Reink, Brady Crenshaw and Reid Gray.

Linfield finished the 2025 season 7-2 overall and 6-1 in Northwest Conference play, placing second in the conference standings after winning six of its final seven games. The Wildcats averaged 35.8 points and 398.8 yards of offense per game while holding opponents to 18.4 points and 281.2 yards. Quarterback Luke McNabb powered the offense in his first season as the full-time starter, completing 164 of 262 passes for 2,355 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding a team-high 334 rushing yards and seven scores. Senior Caleb Woodcock led the receiving corps with 42 catches for 555 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Dane Meddaugh followed with 459 yards and three scores.

Defensively, Hudson Reink led Linfield with 60 tackles and 12 tackles for loss, Brady Crenshaw added 51 tackles, two interceptions and three forced fumbles, and Jaydon Kaio recorded a team-high six sacks. The Wildcats secured the program's 69th consecutive winning season with a 29-21 victory over Lewis & Clark, extending Linfield's all-divisions record streak that dates to 1956. Linfield honored 11 seniors before a 65-19 season-ending victory over Willamette, with several departing Wildcats completing decorated careers. Woodcock earned First Team All-NWC after totaling 1,268 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 28 career games. Linebacker Blaze Holani earned First Team All-NWC for his second career all-conference honor after recording 38 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, six pass breakups and an interception. Kaanan Huffman earned Second Team All-NWC and Matua Whalen was selected Third Team All-NWC.

Kicker Gavin Dalziel departed as one of the most accomplished specialists in program history, finishing his five seasons as Linfield's career leader in field goals made, field goals attempted and extra points made with 40 field goals and 212 PATs.

2025 Season Statistics

2026 Roster

2026 Coaching Staff

Senior cornerback Kenyon Johnson appeared in eight games during his junior season, recording 26 tackles, three interceptions, nine pass breakups and a fumble recovery. His play in the secondary helped Linfield limit opponents to 215.8 passing yards per game while intercepting 15 passes as a unit.

The Vancouver, Washington, native earned First Team All-Northwest Conference and First Team D3football.com All-Region 6 honors before being selected Third Team D3football.com All-America. He was also named to the NWC All-Sportsmanship Team. Johnson enters 2026 with 68 tackles, five interceptions and 15 pass breakups in three seasons at Linfield after transferring from Southern Oregon. He and punter Cade Johannsen were both named D3football.com Preseason First Team All-Americans entering the 2026 campaign.

Senior Cornerback #35 Kenyon Johnson

Senior Punter #30 Cade Johannsen

Junior punter Cade Johannsen returns as one of the nation's premier specialists following a dominant 2025 campaign. The Eugene, Oregon, native averaged 44.8 yards across 30 punts for 1,343 yards, with 11 punts traveling more than 50 yards and 12 landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line. His season-long punt of 57 yards came against UW-Oshkosh, while just three of his punts resulted in touchbacks. Johannsen's average ranked No. 1 in Division III.

Johannsen was named First Team All-Northwest Conference before earning First Team D3football.com All-Region 6 and First Team D3football.com All-America recognition. His All-America selection made him Linfield's first punter to receive the honor since James Wilson in 2003. Johannsen enters 2026 as a D3football.com Preseason First Team All-American and has an opportunity to become the first Wildcat to earn consecutive First Team All-America honors from the organization since defensive end Alex Hoff in 2014 and 2015.

Senior Quarterback #7 Luke McNabb

The Scappoose, Oregon native, Luke McNabb started all nine games and completed 62% of his passes for 2,355 yards and 27 touchdowns while throwing just seven interceptions. He was also Linfield's leading rusher with 334 yards and seven touchdowns, giving him nearly 2,700 yards of total offense and 34 total scores. His 166.8 passing efficiency rating led the NWC.

McNabb earned First Team All-Northwest Conference honors as the league's top quarterback. He was at his best down the stretch, throwing a career-high seven touchdown passes in a 77-14 win at Puget Sound before closing the season with career highs of 440 passing yards and seven total touchdowns in the victory over Willamette. Through three seasons in the purple and cardinal, McNabb entered 2026 with more than 3,800 career passing yards, 1,600 rushing yards and 65 total touchdowns.

Junior linebacker Hudson Reink totaled a team-high 60 tackles, including 39 solo stops, while leading the Wildcats with 12 tackles for loss. He also recorded two sacks, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.

The West Linn native's breakout season earned him First Team All-Northwest Conference recognition, making him the lone Linfield underclassman on the conference's defensive first team. Reink added CSC Academic All-District honors after maintaining a 3.50 cumulative GPA. With Holani departing after finishing third on the team in tackles, Reink enters his junior season as the established leader of the Wildcats' linebacker corps.

Junior Linebacker #6 Hudson Reink

Senior Wide Receiver #2 Dane Meddaugh

Senior wide receiver Dane Meddaugh returns as Linfield's leading returning pass catcher following a breakout junior campaign. Meddaugh started all nine games and caught 32 passes for 459 yards, averaging 14.3 yards per reception, while scoring three touchdowns. His 459 receiving yards ranked second on the team behind departing senior Caleb Woodcock.

The Gig Harbor, Washington, native carries a 3.75 cumulative GPA as a finance major. With Woodcock and his team-leading 555 yards and 10 touchdowns departing, Meddaugh enters 2026 as McNabb's most productive returning target.

Crenshaw finished second on the team with 51 tackles, including 28 solo stops, while adding two interceptions and two pass breakups. He also forced a team-high three fumbles.

Crenshaw's season began with a 13-tackle performance against UW-Oshkosh that earned him NWC Defensive Athlete of the Week honors. His consistent production throughout the fall ultimately resulted in First Team All-Northwest Conference recognition, the first all-conference award of his career. Crenshaw joins Johnson and Reink in giving the Wildcats three returning First Team All-NWC defenders entering 2026.

Senior Safety #3 Brady Crenshaw

Sophomore Center/Guard #75 Dylan Howell

Dylan Howell returns as one of the anchors of the Wildcat offensive front. The Gresham native emerged as a leader of a young offensive line in 2025 and helped protect a Linfield passing attack that averaged 279 yards per game and produced 28 touchdowns through the air. The Wildcats surrendered 26 sacks while generating nearly 400 yards of total offense per game.

Howell's performance resulted in Second Team All-Northwest Conference honors, making him one of only two Linfield underclassmen to earn All-NWC recognition in 2025. With McNabb back under center and several experienced skill-position players returning, Howell provides continuity up front for an offense that scored 322 points in nine games last season.

The freshmen come primarily from the West Coast, with a large majority of the newcomers hailing from Oregon. Quarterback Parker Sellner (Newberg), safety Jack Wilson (Sherwood), safety Ryan Mullins Jr. (Dayton), linebacker Cruz Gray (Springfield), cornerback Talon Britt (Hood River), linebacker Tyler Pond (Yamhill), linebacker Zach VandenBrink (West Linn), defensive end Jason Kelley (Carlton), defensive end Logan Oliveira (Dayton), defensive tackle Jedidiah Robertson (Jacksonville), defensive end Shane McGuire (Coquille), offensive tackle Dezmond Montiel (Madras), offensive lineman Tate Jordan (Oregon City), center Kai Brusasco (Eugene), offensive lineman/defensive lineman Jamal Andersen (Beaverton), wide receiver CJ Giustina (Eugene) and wide receiver Mitchell Penny (Sherwood) are among the Oregon products joining the program.

Washington is also well represented with safety Ezekiel Schmadeke of Sequim, linebacker Owen Tracy of Auburn and defensive end Evan Stennes of Puyallup.

Linfield adds three California freshmen in running backs Durrell Morrison of Atwater, Vincent Maiorana of Pleasanton and Aumaurieon Bailey of Pasadena, along with cornerback Buddy McClendon of San Pedro and wide receiver Micah Cardoza of Manteca.

The class stretches beyond the West Coast with cornerback TK Ntwali of Layton, Utah, cornerback Malik McLaurin of Henderson, Nevada, and safety Brandt Propes of Gilbert, Arizona. Hawaii is represented by offensive lineman Trenton Tanigawa of Lihue and defensive lineman/long snapper Kain Faufata of Kaneohe.

Beyond the freshman class, Linfield's newcomer group includes several players who bring previous college experience. Senior wide receiver Brandon George comes to Linfield from Concord University and is a native of Watsonville, California. Sophomore receiver Jett Norlin, from Greenwich, Connecticut, arrives after previously attending the University of Redlands. Junior cornerback Alex Atkins is a San Mateo, California native who comes to Linfield from City College of San Francisco. Senior offensive guard Ethan Johnson, a Portland native, joins the Wildcats after time at Portland State University, while sophomore defensive lineman Landon Fay returns home to McMinnville after previously attending Southern Oregon University.

Linfield opens the season with two familiar non-conference opponents, though both games move away from Maxwell Field after being played in McMinnville last fall. The Wildcats travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on September 5 for their season opener against UW-Oshkosh. The Titans have won all three previous meetings between the programs. The series began in the 2012 NCAA Division III quarterfinals, when UW-Oshkosh defeated Linfield in overtime in McMinnville. The teams met again in Wisconsin in 2024, with the Titans again prevailing in overtime, before Oshkosh came to McMinnville in 2025 and knocked off the Wildcats, 31-14.

After a week off, Linfield travels to Orange, California, to face Chapman on September 19. Linfield held a 5-1 advantage in the series entering last season, with Chapman's lone victory coming in a 68-65 NCAA playoff shootout in Orange in 2019. The Wildcats added another victory to the series in 2025, defeating the Panthers 28-13 at Maxwell Field. The 2026 matchup will therefore send Linfield back to Orange for the first time since that 2019 playoff meeting.

Following the two-game non-conference slate and another open weekend, Linfield begins its seven-game Northwest Conference schedule October 3 against George Fox at Maxwell Field for Homecoming. The Wildcats then play consecutive road games at Pacific on October 10 and reigning Northwest Conference Champion Whitworth on October 17.

The 'Cats return home to host Pacific Lutheran on October 24 for Fall Family Weekend. Linfield travels to Portland to face Lewis & Clark on October 31, then hosts Puget Sound on November 7 for the Pacific Office Automation Hall of Fame Game. The regular season concludes November 14 at Willamette in Salem.

The Wildcats will look to improve on their 6-1 conference record from 2025, when their only NWC defeat came against Whitworth. Linfield carries two remarkable streaks into the new season, aiming for a 70th consecutive winning season, while their 2025 victory over Lewis & Clark marked a 47th straight win over the River Otters (formerly Pioneers), the longest known winning streak by one opponent over another in college football history.