Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College guard Aiden Byrne, linebacker Zeke Harris, safety Colin Moore, and punter Josiah Smith have been named to the 2026 D3football.com Preseason All-America Team as announced by the website on Wednesday afternoon. Four Wheaton players on the Preseason All-America Team is the most for the Thunder since 2021. 

Wheaton has had 46 total D3football.com Preseason All-America selections in the 27 years that the website has produced preseason All-America squads. The selection of Byrne, Harris, Moore and Smith marks the 15th-consecutive season that the Thunder football program has produced at least one Preseason All-America selection on the website's list. Wheaton has produced at least one preseason All-American in 20 of the 27 seasons that the website has produced its list of the top Division III players ahead of each season. 

Byrne earns his 2026 Second Team Preseason All-America selection following a 2025 campaign where he earned a Third Team All-America award from D3football.com in 2022. Byrne, helped hold down an offensive line in 2025 that was critical to the success of the Thunder offense. The Thunder ranked top-25 in Division III last season in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense. 

Harris (PICTURED RIGHT), a junior linebacker for Wheaton, earns Second Team preseason All-America honors year. He was a Fourth Team All-American in 2024. Harris' team-high 119 total tackles led the CCIW in tackles in 2025. He made 65 solo tackles with 54 assisted tackles. Among his tackle total was 14 tackles for loss (-53 yards), including five QB sacks (-36 yards). Harris had nine QB hurries, with five passes broken up and an interception.

Colin Moore (PICTURED LEFT) earns a spot on the D3football.com Second Team for the preseason unit. In 2025 he was named to the Associated Press Division III All-America team as a Second Team selection. Moore recorded a career-high eight interceptions last season which tied for first in Division III and tied for second in the NCAA (all divisions) as well. Moore was credited with 15 total passes defended last season, earning a spot among the top-15 in Division III. 


Josiah Smith (PICTURED RIGHT)  is tabbed as a Third Team preseason All-American. In 2025 he was named a Fourth Team All-American by the website, becoming the first Wheaton punter to earn postseason All-America accolades from the website. Smith recorded 29 punts in 2025 for a total of 1,329 yards. His 45.8 yards per punt average led the CCIW and the mark shattered Wheaton's previous single-season school record of 40.6 yards per punt that was set in 2019. A special teams weapon for the Thunder, 12 of Smith's 29 punts landed inside the 20-yard line and 10 of his punts were of 50 or more yards.