The 2024 football season certainly didn’t go how Grinnell College head coach Brent Barnes and his team wanted it to go. The Pioneers finished with a record of 2-8 overall, 2-7 in Midwest Conference action. When you glance at that record, it might not lead to you expecting much from the Pioneers in 2025. However, if you take a deeper dive into things, there’s reasons to be optimistic if you’re a Grinnell College fan. Especially if you realize they are in effect starting from ground zero with restart of their football program in 2021.
As we researched this story, we found a great overview on Grinnell football from author Chuck Offenberger that had some great quotes on how Grinnell suspended their football program for two years and the return of Pioneer Football.
“In the 135 years of football since then, the Pioneers had some seasons of glory – 1915-’17, the early 1960s, the late 1990s – and some seasons of woe. But the sport hit bottom in 2019, when a depleted squad of 40 men had a dozen injuries in their first three games. They called a team meeting with their coaches and college administrators, and the players made the painful proposal – giving up the sport, at least for then.
Then came the “COVID season” of 2020 when the college operated remotely and there were none of the usual on-campus activities. In that time, Anne Harris, who was the Grinnell dean and is now its president, started hearing from faculty, athletics staff and students, too, that football should be given new life here.” Chuck Offenberger Oct. 23, 2024.
Coach Brent Barnes was brought on board to restart the program in 2021. In case you do not know Grinnell played the first college football game west of the Mississippi in Grinnell on Nov. 16, 1889 against the University of Iowa. So, the Pioneers have a long football history foundation that Coach Barnes is building on, and is one of the reasons for optimism in the Pioneers.
Grinnell College has of all the schools in Iowa in Division III have a more national student recruiting focus (the football players all have the state flag from their home on their helmets). Grinnell is backed by a large endowment and have a selective high academic profile. They get students and football players that fit their desired academic profile from all over the US. So, of all the Iowa teams they have the fewest former Iowa High School players on their roster (only 2 this year – Sam Norris – DSM Roosevelt and Luke Konczal – Fairfield). They have 65 total players on the roster this fall.
The Pioneers were picked 8th in the Midwest conference preseason poll. Starting the season at home is something else the Pioneers have going for them. They’ll host Macalester College (0-10 last year but they play in the very rugged Minnesota Athletic Conference).on Saturday, September 6 for their lone non-conference matchup of the year. After that, it’s all Midwest Conference action all the time for the Pioneers. They’ll host Beloit #9 preseason the following week, a team that Grinnell has split the last ten games with. Beloit did have the upper hand last season, as the Buccaneers won 16-7. Those games and the home game against Lawrence #10 preseason are strong win chances. The teams directly above Grinnell in the preseason polls are Cornell #5, Ripon #6 and Knox #7 so they are in a good position to improve on last years 2-8 record.
Let’s look at the roster: a lot of rushing production that was accounted for in 2024 returns in 2025. The running back group is led by juniors Lucky Carton and Sam Eaton. Joining them will be sophomore Marcus Sung. Together, those three ran for north of 1,100 yards last season and found the end zone six times on the ground.
Carton is also a strong threat in the passing game and is the top statistical receiving threat for Grinnell. Carton snagged 41 catches for 311 yards and four touchdowns through the air in 2024 and has chemistry with junior Will Cloake, who threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns when he split time with the now graduated Henry Baird.
The Pioneers also have a new offensive coordinator calling the shots this season. Malcolm J. Gibson will lead the offense moving forward after a stint as the passing game coordinator for Washington and Lee, located in Lexington, Virginia. Gibson has some Iowa ties as he started his collegiate career as a player at Coe College on their 2016 IIAC Championship team.
Seniors Breck Bishop and Bert Greene will anchor the Grinnell defense with their hard-hitting style of play. Bishop, a defensive lineman, recorded five sacks just a season ago and helped pave the way for Greene, a linebacker, to get 46 stops. Look for Greene to have increased production with the departure of Hugh Werner, who is now on the Grinnell coaching staff.
Grinnell returns a lot of production in the secondary as well. The defensive back unit features Kevin Johanson, Keaton Fitzgerald, and Hays Marionneaux, who all had two interceptions each last season.
At SGI – We think the floor for 2025 is 2 wins with an upside of 4ish wins on the fall if it all breaks the right way. Grinnell has won two games each fall since their restart in 2021, so 2+ wins will be strong progress.
With a new offensive coordinator and a good amount of veteran talent back, will Grinnell take a leap forward in 2025? Let us know what you think.
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