Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College senior Dallas McRae has been named to the Division III All-American Team by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). There have been 19 AFCA Division III All-American selections from Wheaton through the years. The Thunder football program has had at least one player selected to the AFCA Division III All-America Football Team for seven-consecutive seasons, currently the longest streak in Divsion III.

McRae, a defensive tackle for the Thunder, is a First Team selection by the AFCA. He was also a First Team honoree in 2019, and is one of five repeat selections on this year's team. A two-time winner of the CCIW's "Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year" award, McRae is also a three-time All-CCIW honoree. He is also a two-time D3football.com Regional Defensive Player of the Year (2019 & 2021).

McRae led the Wheaton defense with 13 sacks (91 yards) this season. His 22 tackles for loss (-118 yards) led the Thunder defense and he was second on the team in total tackles with 51, including 37 solo stops. He registered eight quarterback hurries this season, breaking up five passes. McRae is ranked 15th in Division III in sacks per game (1.08 SPG) and is 16th in the nation in tackles for loss per game (1.8 TFLPG).

McRae's back-to-back selections mark the seventh-consecutive year that a Wheaton player has been selected to the AFCA team, joining: Eric Stevenson (LB) in 2018; Chase Greenlee (DE) in 2017, Peter Gibson (G), in 2016, Adam Dansdill (LB) in 2015 and Spencer Clark (C) in 2014. Wheaton's 19 selections to the AFCA Division III All-American Team since the awards began in 1996 is tied for sixth-most in the history of the award.  

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.

The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of head coaches representing each conference from each of the AFCA's eight districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.

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MOST AFCA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS ALL-TIME
1.) Mount Union - 29
2.) Mary-Hardin Baylor - 25
3.) Linfield - 23
4.) UW-Whitewater 22
5.) Wittenberg and Washington & Jefferson - 21
6.) WHEATON, UW-La Crosse and Augustana - 19
7.) St. John's (Minn.) and Springfield -18
8.) Ithaca, Central (Iowa), Widener and Wesley - 17
9.) Montclair State - 15
10.) North Central - 14