TOWSON, Md. – Seven Towson University players have been recognized in the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Postseason Awards, announced by the league on Tuesday.
 
Six Tigers were placed on the CAA Football All-Conference Teams plus one more was chosen as honorable mention.  Towson earns the most amount of All-CAA players in one season since 2021, when eight Tigers were all-league selections.
 
Carter Runyon earns a First Team All-CAA selection while Ralph Paige Jr. was honored on the Second Team All-CAA.  Four Tigers are All-CAA Third Team: Devin Matthews, Keegan Vaughan, Jurnee Dunbar and Myles Brodie.  John Gioia is All-CAA Honorable Mention.
 
The CAA Football Postseason Awards are nominated and voted on by the league's head coaches.
 
Towson finished the year with a three-game winning streak to earn the team's first seven-win season since 2019 and a 5-3 CAA record for the first winning conference season since 2018 under head coach Pete Shinnick.  The Tigers have earned a .500 or better CAA year five of the last six fall seasons.
 
Runyon is now a two-time All-CAA First Team honoree after being Towson's first-ever All-CAA First Team selection at tight end last year.  Runyon is Towson's first two-time All-CAA First Team player since Shane Simpson was in 2016 and 2018.  The redshirt senior led Towson in receptions with 45 and tied for receiving touchdowns with five, finishing with 502 yards, his second-straight 500+ yard receiving season.  He earned multiple receptions in 11 of Towson's 12 games.
 
Paige Jr. earns All-CAA Second Team after being 2023 Honorable Mention All-CAA.  The senior offensive lineman and team captain was Towson's starting center in all 12 games this year, anchoring a line which averaged 5.02 yards per rush, third in the CAA, and had an 85.7% scoring rate in the red zone.
 
Matthews earns his first all-league selection and will finish his career in the top-7 in Towson history with 2,301 career rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns.  This season, Matthews is sixth in FCS with 6.79 yards per rush, tallying up 896 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 132 carries, averaging 74.7 rushing yards a game, adding 142 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.  The redshirt senior earned at least 70 rushing yards in seven games this year.
 
Vaughan notches his second all-league honor, being All-CAA Second Team in 2023, being just the second Towson kicker, along with Aidan O'Neill, to be a multiple All-CAA selection.  The redshirt senior tied a Towson single season record with 11 consecutive field goals made from Sept. 21-Nov. 23, including a career-long 49 yarder vs. William & Mary, being second in the CAA with a 78.9% field goal percentage.  He finished with 15 field goals and was a perfect 35-for-35 on extra point attempts.
 
Dunbar is now a two-time all-league selection, being 2022 All-PSAC East Second Team with Shepherd University.  The senior defensive lineman started all 12 games for Towson up front, tallying up 30 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.  He was a key part of a defensive line which stands second in the CAA with 33 team sacks, the highest single season total at Towson since 2013.
 
Brodie also earns his second all-conference selection, being 2019 Middle Atlantic Conference Second Team All-Conference while at Alvernia University.  Starting 11 games at cornerback, the redshirt senior led Towson with 11 passes defended on two interceptions and nine pass break-ups, adding 44 tackles and a forced fumble.  He broke up three passes and had four tackles in Towson's win at Monmouth on Oct. 26 when the Hawks were the No. 1 scoring offense in FCS.
 
Gioia is Honorable Mention All-CAA after being First Team All-NEC at Wagner College last year.  Playing in the final nine games of the season, including eight starts, the graduate student linebacker averaged a team-best 7.8 tackles per game, finishing with 68 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.  Gioia notched at least eight tackles in five different games this season.
 
2024 CAA Football All-Conference Team – Towson
First Team
Carter Runyon – TE
 
Second Team
Ralph Paige Jr. – OL
 
Third Team
Devin Matthews – RB
Keegan Vaughan – PK
Jurnee Dunbar – DL
Myles Brodie – CB
 
Honorable Mention
John Gioia - LB