D3 Stat Champions: NC Wesleyan’s Braxtyn Green Sets Punting Standard

Braxtyn Green of North Carolina Wesleyan has certainly left his mark on the Battling Bishops’ kicking game over the past two seasons.

Green, a sophomore from Live Oak, Fla. (Suwannee HS), earned USA South Conference special teams MVP for the second year in a row and achieved all-conference honors as both a punter and placekicker.

This season, Green also captured our All-North Carolina Division III Stat Champion award for punting yards, leading the Old North State with an average of 41.1 yards per kick. He put 10 of his 33 punts inside opponents’ 20-yard-line and rocketed eight kicks 50 yards or longer. He never suffered a blocked punt. His longest kick of the season covered 71 yards.

Brevard’s Samuel Vargas finished with a 40.0 yards-per-punt average for the season, second-best among our state’s D3 kickers. Methodist’s Kenneth Schoene recorded the most punts (55) and amassed the most total yardage (2,067).

Guilford’s John Abernathy edged Green for longest punt of the season in a D3 game. Abernathy launched a 73-yarder in a week four game against Sewanee. 

2024 D3 Stat Champions | Punting

Yards Per Punt | Season Leaders

• 41.1 – Braxtyn Green (North Carolina Wesleyan): 9 games, 33 punts, 1,357 yards
• 40.0 – Samuel Vargas (Brevard): 8 games, 24 punts, 960 yards
• 37.6 – Kenneth Schoene (Methodist): 10 games, 55 punts, 2,067 yards
• 35.4 – John Abernathy (Guilford): 8 games, 40 punts, 1,415 yards 
• 33.6 – Thomas Chapman (Greensboro): 10 games, 39 punts, 1,309 yards

Longest Punt | Single-Game Leaders (60+ Yards)

• 73 – John Abernathy (Guilford): Week 4 vs. Sewanee
• 71 – Braxtyn Green (North Carolina Wesleyan): Week 4 vs. Huntingdon
• 61 – Samuel Vargas (Brevard): Week 9 at Huntingdon
• 61 – Samuel Vargas (Brevard): Week 12 at Kentucky Christian

Punting Average | Single-Game Leaders (50+ Yards)

North Carolina did not have a D3 punter average 50 or more yards in a game this season

More NC College Football 2024 Stat Champions | Punters

FCS Stat Champions: Elon’s Jeff Yurk Leads State, Nation In Punting

D2 Stat Champions: Seth Bowen Takes Season Punting Crown

FBS Stat Champions: Coming Soon

Eric Lusk Publisher & Editor

Eric Lusk started NC Football News in 2023. He's an old newspaper guy with a fondness for underdogs, redemption stories and the triple-option offense. He's a proud graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School and UNC's School of Journalism. He's thankful for God's mercy, family and second chances.

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