Kennesaw State linebacker Baron Hopson landed a semifinalist spot for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football's top scholar-athlete award.

The National Football Foundation (NFF) named Hopson one of 206 semifinalists on Wednesday, Sept. 23, according to KSU Athletics. Hopson is Kennesaw State's sole nominee and one of just 95 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players in the field.

The Campbell Trophy, in its 37th year, recognizes the nation's best football scholar-athlete based on academic achievement, on-field performance and leadership.

The graduate student carries a 4.0 GPA while pursuing a master's degree in engineering management after already earning his civil engineering degree. He has made the Dean's List six times and is a Double Owl Member, a Kennesaw State pathway that lets high-potential students complete undergraduate and graduate degrees on an accelerated timeline.

On the field, Hopson is the reigning 2025 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. He recorded a school-record 138 tackles, nine tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception across 14 games during the 2025 season. He led the Owls in tackles in nine of those contests. In the regular-season finale that clinched KSU's berth in the CUSA Championship game, Hopson set a single-game tackle record with 16.

He entered 2026 as the preseason CUSA Defensive Player of the Year and landed on watch lists for the Lombardi Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. HERO Sports also named him a Group of Six Preseason All-American.

Off the field, Hopson chairs KSU's Student-Athlete Association and serves on the football team's leadership council. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Black Student-Athlete Association.

The NFF announced a record 206 semifinalists this year, topping the previous high of 204 set in 2024. The group carries a collective 3.64 GPA and includes 130 team captains, 24 All-Americans and 98 players who have already earned undergraduate degrees.

The NFF will narrow the field to 12 to 16 finalists on Oct. 21. Each finalist receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner will be announced at the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas, with that scholarship increased to $25,000.

KSU's next game is Sunday, Sept. 27, against Arkansas State. The Owls' CUSA schedule includes a rematch of the 2025 CUSA Championship game against Jacksonville State on Wednesday, Oct. 7.