Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce DeForest's Tyler Ebel as the 2021 recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award as the most outstanding senior kicker or punter in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

DeForest's Tyler Ebel was our top-ranked specialist coming into the season and showed why, averaging 41.9 yards per punt for the Norskies.

Nearly half of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Ebel earned First Team All-Conference in the Badger-Large this year as a punter. He was also recently recognized as the WFCA Large Schools All-State punter.

Finalists for the award were Ebel, Bryce Hillers of Richland Center, Andy Justus of Greendale, Michael Karlen of Stanley-Boyd, Michael Stack of Oshkosh West.

Past winners of the award include Menomonee Falls' Kyle French (2009), Arrowhead's Drew Meyer (2010), Sun Prairie's Lucas Otto (2011), Lodi's Donnie Manke (2012), both Casey Bednarski of Oconomowoc & Colin Downing of Whitefish Bay (2013), Saint Mary's Springs' Zach Hintze (2014), Lodi's Garrett Wegner (2015), Monona Grove's Collin Larsh (2016), Sun Prairie's Alex Oakley (2017), Kettle Moraine's Blake Wilcox (2018), and Neenah's Jack Van Dyke (2019), and Watertown's Branden Fischer (2020).

The award is named after Kevin Stemke, a Green Bay Preble graduate who would go on to play for the Wisconsin Badgers. At UW, Stemke quickly made an impression, setting the record for punting average as just a freshman. After a senior season that saw him average 44.5 yards per punt, Stemke was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. Kevin also holds UW records for highest punting average in a career (43.5) and total punting yards (10,660).

The voting panel for the WSN Senior Football Awards consisted of:  Travis Wilson, WSN General Manager and Head Football Writer;  Norbert Durst, WSN Content Manager; Dennis Semrau, ESPN Madison; B.J. DeGroot, WSCO The Score 95.3 in Appleton; Curt Hogg, NOW Newspapers; Dan Barwick, WSN Contributor; Colton Wilson, WSN Content Producer; Fan Vote

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.