Bryce Hayes
SEGUIN, Texas — The Texas Lutheran football team was picked fifth in the 2023 American Southwest Conference (ASC) Preseason Poll announced Monday.
TLU received 44 points from the pool of 14 ballots.
The duo of defending ASC champions No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 8 Hardin-Simmons were the top two picked with a decided edge over the rest of the field with no other teams receiving first place votes and 16 points separating the Cowboys from Howard Payne – who was selected to finish third with 67 points.
The American Southwest Conference also announced individual honors and their “Players to Watch List.”
Texas Lutheran had four players: Seth Cosme, Jacob Forton, Caleb Giles, and Cameron Welch, named to the 19 player watch list for 2023. Welch appears on the watch list for the second time in his career after being named to the watch list in 2022 following a 2021 season that saw him named the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.
Quarterback Seth Cosme (Angleton/Angleton), who returns for his fifth-year after finishing fourth in NCAA Division-III in completion percentage (73%) and seventh in completions per game (23.2) and being named All-ASC Third Team in 2022.
Jacob Forton, an All-ASC Third Team running back last season, was named to the watch list following a breakout 2022 season that saw him lead TLU in rushing with 506 yards and finish tied for second in the ASC in rushing touchdowns (10) and third in all-purpose yards (1,031).
Senior linebacker Caleb Giles (Houston/Lamar) will look to build upon a 2022 season that saw him make 44 tackles including one sack and three tackles for a loss and three interceptions.
Punter Cameron Welch (New Braunfels/Canyon) handled the team’s punting and kickoff duties in all ten games last season, totaling 38 punts for 1,365 yards (35.9 average), with five forced fair catches and seven punts inside the 20 while adding seven touchbacks on 39 kickoffs.
Texas Lutheran is scheduled to open the 2023 season September 2 when they travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to face 21st-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans in a first time matchup at Titan Stadium, with kickoff set for 1:05 PM. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
Season tickets for Bulldog football are on sale now and provide the best value and seating options for fans. Season tickets are available online here. For more information on Texas Lutheran football, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter and Instagram (@TLU_Football) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).
2023 ASC Preseason Poll
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (13) – 97
2. Hardin-Simmons (1) – 83
3. Howard Payne – 67
4. East Texas Baptist – 54
5. Texas Lutheran – 44
6. McMurry – 26
7. Austin – 21
$ – Sul Ross State – Will not count in the 2023 standings and are ineligible for both the ASC and NCAA Championships (Reclassifying to NCAA Division-II)