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Bridgewater, NJ — A quintet of NEC football players were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) as FCS All-Americans, the organization announced on Tuesday.
 
Each of the five standouts landed on the AP's Honorable Mention list.
 
Two-time defending champion Central Connecticut led the way with three picks in redshirt senior offensive lineman Isaiah DeLoatch (Shelton, CT/Shelton), sophomore defensive back Chris Jean (Rochester, NY/Rochester) and senior linebacker Jack Stoll (Lafayette, NJ/Pope John XXII). Duquesne graduate wideout Joey Isabella (Mayfield, OH/Mayfield) and LIU sophomore defensive back Jalen Bell (Kissimmee, FL/Osceola) rounded out the NEC's AP All-America Honorable Mentions.
 
With the Blue Devils' trio of honorees, Central Connecticut has had at least one AP All-American in each of the past two years, as 2024 NEC Defensive Player of the Year Kimal Clark and offensive lineman Alic Ambrosia each walked away with Honorable Mention accolades a season ago. 
 
Defending 17 passes to rank sixth in the FCS with 1.31 per contest, Jean, a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week, muscled his way to All-NEC First Team distinction for the second time in as many seasons. The 2024 NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year led the league in both pass breakups (13) and interceptions (4), while his 52 solo stops were tied for the team lead. On his career, Jean, a redshirt sophomore who has logged time in 26 games in two full years at Central Connecticut, is currently ranked fifth among all FCS players with 0.30 interceptions per game while his eight career picks are good for eighth in the nation. 
 
Jean recently earned a spot on the FCS Central All-America Third Team. 
 
DeLoatch is coming off the heels of a senior campaign that saw him earn his second-straight All-NEC First Team nod. The Shelton, CT native paved the way for Elijah Howard, a senior who ran his way to the NEC Offensive Player of the Year award as the NEC's top rusher with 1,113 yards. Under DeLoatch's protection, Central Connecticut quarterbacks were sacked just 15 times in the regular season, the second-best mark in the NEC. In addition, the Blue Devils' rush offense topped the conference charts with 18 running scores.
 
Stoll, who was pegged the 2025 NEC Defensive Player of the Year, also took home All-NEC First Team distinction for the second-straight year. The linebacker was the second Blue Devil in as many seasons to ink his name on the Buck Buchanan Award Finalist List, an award the recognizes the top defensive player in FCS, as he joined Kimal. 
 
Stoll was second among all NEC tacklers with 15.5 tackles-for-loss, while his 91 total tackles were good for third-most in the conference. He recorded three games with double-digit tackles, including a pair of 12-tackle performances, and blocked the game-tying field goal in the closing seconds against LIU to ultimately save Central Connecticut's campaign, which resulted in the program earning its second-consecutive berth to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. With Stoll on the line, the Blue Devils were second in scoring defense at 22.9 points per contest. 
 
A finalist for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which recognizes the top offensive player in FCS, Isabella was tied for first in the FCS statistics at regular-season's end with 13 receiving touchdowns, which were a whopping eight more than the next closest competitor in the circuit. This past year, he recorded career-best totals in receptions (63), receiving yards (839) and touchdowns, with each of those three numbers also topping the NEC charts.
 
Isabella closed his career with a five-catch and 108-yard performance that included a 71-yard touchdown — the Dukes' longest pass play in 2025 and the third longest in the NEC  — in a win at Robert Morris. He caught for 100-plus yards two other times, adding a 120-yard performance at FBS opponent Pitt and a 153-yard effort against nationally ranked Lehigh.
 
Isabella is Duquesne's first AP All-America honoree since A.J. Hines was recognized as a Second Team running back in 2018.
 
Bell became the second Shark since 2023 to earn All-America recognition from the AP with defensive end Eric O'Neill being the last to do so when he took home Third Team distinction. 
 
The Floridian was one of three Sharks defenders to land All-NEC First Team honors after he anchored a suffocating defense that limited league foes to just nine touchdowns for a stout 11.4 points per game. Bell racked up a team-leading 72 tackles while adding 7.0 tackles-for-loss, four pass breakups, two picks and one forced fumble in his second season in Brookville. He helped lead LIU to the program's best record — a 6-6 overall mark and a 4-3 record against conference competitors— since the program joined the NEC for the 2019 season.