SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team recently wrapped up its spring slate with the annual spring game on Saturday. As part of the festivities at the game, four-time NSIC Coach of the Year
Jerry Olszewski announced the five players voted as team captains for the 2026 season.
Seniors
Tyler Birn,
Christian Connelly,
Gunnar Hensley,
Jake Pecina and
Sam Scholten will serve in leadership roles for the Vikings in 2026
Birn, the defensive lineman from Appleton, Wisconsin. earns his first captainship. The two-time NSIC Champion appeared in 34 games on the defensive line over the last three seasons. He recorded 4.5 tackles for loss a season ago and knocked down a pass. He has tallied 3.5 sacks in his career and 33 tackles.
Holding down the other captainship on the defensive side, Connelly is a two-time Academic All-NSIC honoree out of Bryon, Minnesota. He has tallied four sacks while playing in 20 games over the last two seasons, including a safety in last year's season-opener. He finished last season with 17 tackles while playing in all 11 games.
The lone returning captain from Carlsbad, California, Hensley had his season cut short after starting each of the first five games. He was extremely effective in those five games, throwing for 1,419 yards and 13 touchdowns without throwing an interception. He completed 123 of 171 passes, averaging 283.8 yards per game.
A returning Academic All-America honoree, Pecina was nothing short of an ace on special teams. The two-way all-region honoree and Forney, Texas native was ninth in the country with a 43.0 punt average. A NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winner, Pecina stuck 16 punts inside the 20 and struck 13 punts for at least 50 yards. He also went 8 of 12 on field goals with a school-record 57-yarder against Wayne State in the season finale.
Rounding out the group, Scholten, from Brandon, South Dakota, has made three Academic All-NSIC teams in his career and earned the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award in the winter. He comes off his most productive season, tallying 215 receiving yards and two touchdowns while adding a pair of two-point conversions. He caught 17 passes with a season-long catch-and-run of 63 yards.
Augustana's 2026 season opens Aug. 27 vs. Missouri Western in a non-conference matchup in St. Joseph, Missouri. The NSIC schedule will open up Sept. 3 at Minnesota Duluth before opening the home schedule against Minot State on Sept. 12.
