VILLANOVA, Pa.—Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell is among 30 defensive players nationwide, including three from CAA Football, who were named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday afternoon. The watch list was announced by Stats Perform for the annual award which is presented to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. This is the second straight year that Villanova has had a player named to the initial watch list fort the Buck Buchanan Award.
 
Hartzell is consistently being recognized on a national level as he enters his final collegiate season. He was previously named by Stats Perform as a second team Preseason All-American earlier this month and was a first team selection by Phil Steele. Hartzell also appeared on the CAA Football Preseason All-Conference Team last week. He was a first team all-conference selection a year ago.
 
After playing in four games during a redshirt freshman season in 2021, Hartzell has developed into a mainstay on the Wildcats defense during his career. He has played in 41 games and has tackled 249 total tackles, including 140 solo stops, 24.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Hartzell also has three career forced fumbles and one fumble recovery to go along with an interception and six total passes defended. He has registered 74 or more tackles and six or more tackles for loss in each of the past three seasons.
 
Hartzell is coming of easily his best collegiate campaign in 2024 when he led the team with five sacks and recorded a team-high 67 solo tackles. He wound up second on the team with 121 total stops and 9.5 tackles for loss. After a career day against New Hampshire in which he recorded 20 total stops, Hartzell was named the Stats Perform FCS Defensive Player of the Week and was also the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week. Consistency was key for Hartzell, as he reached double digits in tackles four times and was credited with seven or more total stops in 10 of 14 games.
 
The Buck Buchanan Award is in its 31^st season and is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Last season, Villanova cornerback Isas Waxter was named to the award's preseason watch list and went on to be an All-American for the 2024 season.
 
All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the preseason watch list, which includes seven past finalists. More players can join the watch list before a national media panel selects the winner from a group of finalists after the regular season. The Buck Buchanan Award was first presented in 1995.
 
This year's award will be announced on January 3, 2026, at the Stats Perform National Awards Presentation in Nashville, Tenn. The presentation will also include the winners of the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), HBCU National Player of the Year and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.