Carneiro, Veltkamp earn CUSA Player Of The Year Awards

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football quarterback Caden Veltkamp has been named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and kicker Lucas Carneiro has been named the CUSA Special Teams Player of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.

Carneiro was named All-CUSA First Team Special Teams on Tuesday, while Veltkamp was named to the All-CUSA Second Team Offense.

Carneiro, who was CUSA’s Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, has been nearly perfect at kicking for WKU this fall. He is 17-for-18 on field goals, with 17 straight makes, and he has gone 39-for-39 on PATs. His 17 consecutive field goals made marks the longest streak in program history. He has gone 6-for-6 on field goals of 50-plus yards this season, including two 54-yard makes, which are career highs and are tied for the second-longest in program history. He also made a 50-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining in the regular-season finale against Jax State to send WKU to the CUSA Championship game. He is the only CUSA kicker to go 6-for-6 from 50-plus yards in a season since 1996, while only four others have gone at least 3-for-3.

Carneiro is fourth in the league in scoring, second in the league in scoring by a kicker, second in the league in field goals made and first in the league in field goal percentage. Carneiro was named CUSA’s Special Teams Player of the Year three times, and he was the only kicker in the league that was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award.

Veltkamp replaced injured starter TJ Finley in WKU’s third game and has started each game since. He has 2,806 yards and 23 touchdowns on 233-350-10 passing. He’s also rushed for 162 yards and seven scores on 109 attempts. Veltkamp has been named the CUSA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season, and has also been a Davey O’Brien Great 8 honoree, a Manning Star of the Week, and a member of the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Class of 2024.

Veltkamp ranks first in CUSA in points responsible for, first in points responsible for per game, second in passing yards, first in passing touchdowns, second in completion percentage and second in efficiency. Nationally, Veltkamp ranks 21st in completion percentage, 25th in passing efficiency, 22nd in passing touchdowns, 15th in points responsible for and 17 in points responsible for per game.

This marks the first time WKU has had a player named the CUSA Offensive Player of the Year and the first time the program has had a player named the CUSA Special Teams Player of the Year. WKU’s last superlative award came in 2022, when quarterback Austin Reed was named CUSA’s Newcomer of the Year. Overall, WKU has received 12 Player of the Year or MVP awards since joining CUSA in 2014, which is three more than the next closest team during that timeframe.

WKU will face James Madison in the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 18, in Boca Raton, Florida. Kickoff at FAU Stadium is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN. Tickets to the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl can be purchased HERE, or by calling the WKU Ticket Office at 270-745-5222.