AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Miami's Alec Bevelhimer and Eastern Michigan's Mitchell Tomasek were both selected to the 34-person 2024 Ray Guy Award Watch List, as announced by the Augusta Sports Council today. The award honors the nation's top collegiate punter annually. 

Bevelhimer earned second-team All-MAC accolades a year ago after averaging 45.0 yards per punt (19th in the nation) to go along with 19 punts of over 50 yards while downing 28 kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The junior had just four touchbacks all season.
 
A standout punter entering the 2024 season, Tomasek has solidified his place among the best in Eastern Michigan's history. Boasting a career average of 45.0 yards per punt, he holds the top spot in EMU history, with a total of 5,219 yards ranking him 11th overall. In 2023, Tomasek was named First Team All-MAC for the second consecutive year and claimed the EMU Special Teams MVP Award. His remarkable season included punting 67 times for 3,060 yards, averaging an impressive 45.7 yards per punt, the second-best in program history. Notably, nearly one third of his punts exceeded 50 yards, with 24 landing inside the 20-yard line. Tomasek's prowess on the field earned him recognition as the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week three times, and he was one of just three players nationally to record two punts over 70 yards in 2023.

The candidates on the list incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters. The 2024 watch list was compiled based on the 2023 Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, the top ten NCAA Punters from 2023, the 2023 All-Conference teams, the 2023 All-American Teams, the 2024 pre-season All-Conference Teams, and eligible punters on the 2023 watchlist.

The number of eligible candidates for this season will grow when the award opens nominations on August 3. The complete list of candidates will be released on November 6. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the ten semifinalists, who will be announced on November 15. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on November 26. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2024.