ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Indiana State football's Kimal Clark was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year, highlighting five Sycamores receiving recognition on the All-Conference list as announced by the conference office on Monday morning.
 
Clark becomes just the third Indiana State player to receive the Valley's Newcomer of the Year award and first defensive player in Sycamore history to receive the honor after pacing the MVFC in tackles. Clark joins quarterbacks Julian Reese (2001) and Ryan Boyle (2018) to receive the award and is just the seventh defensive player in MVFC history to receive the honor dating back to 1994.
 
The Lackawanna, N.Y. was named to the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award finalist list this past week and was one of just three MVFC players on the list presented to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
 
Clark finished his first season at Indiana State as the Missouri Valley Football tackling leader with 145 stops and 12.08 tackles per game. He finished second overall in the NCAA FCS in total tackles per game on the year.
 
Clark recorded 10 games with at least 10 tackles on the season, excelling in conference play posting a season-high 19 tackles against Illinois State, while adding 16 against Murray and 15 against both South Dakota State and North Dakota State. The Preseason Third Team All-American added 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, while adding two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
 
He finished the 2025 campaign tied for fifth all-time in Indiana State history in tackles in a single season. Clark is the first Sycamore in program history to be named a Buck Buchanan finalist.
 
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