CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Syracuse punter Jack Stonehouse, a 2025 All-ACC Preseason Team selection and 2024 All-ACC Honorable Mention honoree, has been named to the 2025 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, as announced Friday by the Augusta Sports Council. The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate punter in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
 
Stonehouse enters the 2025 season as the ACC’s leading returning punter, having averaged an impressive 45.7 yards per punt last year. He totaled 33 punts for 1,509 yards, including 10 punts of 50 yards or more, a season-long 64-yarder against Miami, and 11 punts placed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. He allowed just three touchbacks all season.
 
Due to Syracuse's low punting frequency—only 2.5 punts per game—Stonehouse didn’t meet the NCAA minimum to qualify for national rankings (3.6 punts per game). However, his 45.7-yard average would have ranked fifth nationally in net punting had he met the threshold.
 
The 2025 Ray Guy Award Watch List features 15 of the top punters in the country, selected based on 2024 semifinalist status, All-America and All-Conference honors, statistical performance, and preseason recognition for the upcoming season.
 
The Ray Guy Award committee will continue to add candidates throughout the season. Players not named to the preseason list remain eligible for nomination and selection.
 
The complete list of candidates will be released on November 5, and in mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists to be announced in late November. 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 2025.
 
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner are net punting average, percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line, and percentage of punts not returned, with particular emphasis placed on net average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team's success.
 
The Ray Guy Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.