Valparaiso University football sixth-year senior punter Evan Matthes (Reston, Va. / South Lakes [West Virginia]) was selected to participate in the FCS Bowl X Trillion, which was held on Sunday, Dec. 10 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Matthes punted for the American (White) team in a 14-12 loss to the National (Blue) team. He put together a strong showing, averaging 50.8 yards per punt on four attempts including a long of 69.

Matthes joins a list of recent Beacons who have been invited to the event, including Aaron Dawson and Aaron Byrd in 2022 and punter Ben Niesner, who was the Special Teams MVP in 2021.

A member of the All-PFL First Team and Academic All-PFL First Team, Matthes was recently named a semifinalist for the FCS Punter of the Year Award.

The FCS National Bowl is an annual postseason college football all-star game consisting of the top players from college football FCS schools. The inaugural FCS National Bowl was played in December 2014 at FIU Stadium and moved to Daytona Beach Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla., which is home to FCS Bethune-Cookman football, in 2016. The National Bowl and FCS Bowl all-star weekend for Non-FBS schools has been the only game of its kind to attract numerous NFL & CFL scouts.