GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Just over a month out from the launch of the 2025 campaign, the Southern Conference announced five The Citadel cadet- and student-athletes as a SoCon Preseason All-Conference selections, recognizing five-time All-American graduate student P James Platte, graduate student OL Mike Bartilucci, senior DB Cale Williams and redshirt junior LB Je'Mazin Roberts as first-team choices while sophomore WR Braylon Knauth garnered second-team distinction as a return specialist.

Additionally, the league released the 2025 Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll to round out Media Days, positioning the Bulldogs as eighth overall behind 17 total votes.

Platte, a product of Aiken, S.C., served as the anchor for the highly-effective Bulldogs special teams unit across the full 12-game 2024 season, posting a new program season record 47.3 punt average off 44 total kicks for a 2081 yards. The grad student notably launched 18 kicks over 50 yards while pinning opposing teams inside their own 20-yard line on 17 occasions, finishing with the second-best punt average mark within the FCS as well as currently ranking fifth overall at the Division I level.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Bartilucci anchored the offensive line throughout the 2024 campaign at center, starting all 12 games for the Bulldogs. He lead the veteran five-man corps to a SoCon-best 4.00 tackles-for-loss allowed per game while the unit also surrendered just 1.75 sacks per game, good for third within the league. On the ground, Bartilucci and The Citadel offensive line closed out the season with the second-best rushing offense in the conference, averaging 175.1 yards per game, while also acting as a key component in a strong third-down conversion percentage at .379, good for third in league.

Hailing from Canton, Ga., Williams started all 12 games across the 2024 season at safety, concluding the year second on team with 77 total tackles while pacing the group with 52 solo takedowns. He recorded a season-high 10 tackles, including a pair of tackles-for-loss, in a competitive road clash at Mercer, swiped his lone turnover -- an interception -- against ETSU and wrapped up the campaign one of six Bulldogs with multiple passes broken up.

Roberts served as a key contributor for a stout The Citadel defense, taking snaps in all 12 contests throughout the season en route to finishing with 55 total tackles, good for fourth amongst his teammates. The Milledgeville, Ga., product closed out the campaign with 4.5 tackles-for-loss, including a pair of sacks, while also forcing a unit-best two fumbles, the first of which led to the eventual game-winning score in the 2024 season opener at local rival Charleston Southern.

Finally, Knauth carved out a starting role for The Citadel special teams as the primary returner despite his true freshman moniker, fielding 18 punts and 24 kickoffs on the year with total returns of 115 and 476 yards, respectively. Overall, the Orlando, Fla., native concluded the 2024 season ranked 21st nationally within the FCS for combined kick returns, racking up a total 591 yards, en route to a slot on the SoCon All-Freshman squad.

Next up, The Citadel opens the 2025 season against defending FCS National Champion North Dakota State on Saturday, Aug. 30 before turning around the next weekend for the program's initial league clash at Samford on Saturday, Sept. 6. Per a recent release from the Southern Conference, the Bulldogs' campaign kickoff with the Bison will air on select Nexstar affiliates as the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week -- one of just six selections on the year -- with an official broadcast time of noon ET.