INDIANAPOLIS – Butler's Ryan Short was named a finalist for the prestigious Fred Mitchell Award. The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes 41 placekickers for their excellence on the football field throughout the 2025 season.

The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes kickers that were nominated for their terrific performances through the end of the regular season. The recipient of the award will be announced in December based on performance on the football field and in the community.

The namesake for the award, Fred Mitchell, was a longtime (1974–2015) award-winning sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of 12 sports books. Mitchell set the NCAA record for career kick-scoring at Wittenberg University in 1968 among "College Division" schools that are now classified as FCS, Division II and Division III.

"The volume of high-quality non-FBS place-kickers has reached a new level in 2025 when it comes to field goal distances and accuracy," said Fred Mitchell. "Our FMA Selection Committee will be narrowing down this national semi-final list of 40 premium kickers to a Top 10 in the coming days. Factoring in the important criteria of community service, we hope to come up with the very best of the best."

Short was spectacular this season for Butler going 15-for-16 while hitting a season-long 45-yard field goal. Short was 5-of-5 from 40-49, 3-of-3 from 30-39 and 7-of-8 from 20-29. The redshirt junior also served as the squad's punter and averaged 37.42 yards per punt.