BURNSVILLE, MN – Dynamic University of Mary seniors
Karsyn Jablonski and
Christopher Federico are the Northern Sun Marauders Football Players to Watch in 2026. The pair of Marauders were recognized in conjunction with the release of the 2026 NSIC Football Preseason Coaches' Poll as team's open fall training camps.
A wide receiver from Mandan, ND, Jablonski was one of the top receivers in the NSIC last season with 50 catches for 706 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 14.1 yards per catch and 5.0 receptions per game for a UMary team that ranked 10
th in NCAA Division II in passing yards/game. Jablonski ranked 5
th in the NSIC in touchdown catches, 8
th in receptions and 9
th in receiving yards.
Cracking the century mark four times last season, Jablonski set a Marauders NCAA-era record for longest receiving touchdown with a 97 yard jaunt against Winona State University in the home finale. He finished with a career-best 186 yards receiving against the Warriors and caught two TDs.
With 90 catches for 1,293 yards and 10 touchdowns, Jablonski has a chance to finish his career in the top ten of all three categories.
"Karsyn has been a very productive player for us the last few years," said Marauders Head Coach
Shann Schillinger. "He's shown the ability to make big catches in crucial situations. He's a local kid and the program means a lot to him. He is a fun guy to coach and I'm looking forward to watching him have a great senior year."
The Marauders leader in tackles each of the last two seasons, Federico has also ranked among the top tacklers in the NSIC. In 2025, the UMary linebacker made 73 stops, including 53 solo tackles. The native of Henderson, NV, recorded seven tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks. He also intercepted a pass and broke up two others.
Federico earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts in a 40-9 UMary win at Southwest Minnesota State University after making 3.5 tackles for loss, among his 11 tackles on the day.
For the 2025 season Federico ranked fifth in the NSIC for solo tackles and tackles per game (7.3). With 175 career tackles and 120 solo stops, he is on pace to crack the top 10 list all-time for the Marauders.
"Chris has been a leader on our defense the last few years and we are really looking forward to him having a very productive senior year for us," said Schillinger. "He's a great guy to coach as he's an extremely hard worker who loves playing the game."
The Marauders are coming off a 4-7 season overall with a 3-7 mark in NSIC play and a 2-4 record in the NSIC North. UMary is projected to finish 11
th overall in the NSIC preseason poll and 6
th in the NSIC North.
"Like all teams this time of the year we are excited about the season," said Schillinger. "We feel we have a good core group of kids coming back. We were in a lot of close games last year and hopefully the experience of those games will help us find a way this year. It's a fun group to coach and we as coaches are looking forward to the season."
UMary opens the 2026 season with a neutral site Week 0 game against Rocky Mountain College on Thursday, August 27, in Glendive, MT. Kickoff for the non-conference matchup is 7:30 pm CT/6:30 pm MT. The Marauders home and NSIC opener follows on Saturday, September 5, against Minnesota State University, which is the preseason coaches' poll favorite to win the NSIC.
Again in 2026, the NSIC will have 14 teams. The schedule will be broken into two divisions (north/south). Each team will play 10 conference games that will count towards the NSIC Overall Championship, of which six divisional games will count towards the NSIC North/South Division Championships. In all, three league champions will be awarded (Overall Champion, North Division Champion, South Division Champion). Ties will not be broken for overall or division champions.
The NSIC Football schedule is set to begin on Thursday, August 27, with non-conference action.
New for the 2026 season, the NSIC Network is now powered by Midco Sports Plus, the conference's new streaming home for exclusive live and on-demand coverage of all 16 NSIC member institutions. Fans can stream every home regular season conference and non-conference home football game, along with NSIC championship events, through a monthly ($15) or annual subscription ($79). Subscriptions are available at MidcoSportsPlus.com or through the Midco Sports Plus app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku.
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