Western Kentucky redshirt senior punter Cole Maynard has been named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List. (WKU ATHLETICS)

Western Kentucky punter Cole Maynard has been named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, the Augusta Sports Council announced Friday.

The Ray Guy Award honors the nation’s top collegiate punter in the FBS. Maynard is one of 15 players included on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List released Friday, and he is one of only five non-power conference players included.

Maynard, who was also named to the Conference USA Preseason Watch List, served as WKU’s punter in all 14 games during his first season at WKU in 2024. He punted 55 times, totaling 2,350 yards. He averaged 42.7 yards per punt, with nine traveling 50-plus yards and a long of 60, and 19 landing inside the 20-yard line. Maynard was added to the 2024 Ray Guy Award Watchlist after punting a season-high nine times in his Hilltopper debut at Alabama on Aug. 31. Maynard was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 23, after averaging 50.8 yards per punt in the Sept. 21 win over Toledo and helping set up a safety that kick-started the comeback win over the Rockets. He tallied a season-high four punts of 50-plus yards in the win, including a long of 57 yards, and had a pair of punts land inside the 20-yard line. Maynard spent three seasons at North Carolina prior to his arrival at WKU.

The candidates on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List incorporate a broad spectrum of FBS punters and were compiled based on the 2024 Ray Guy Award semifinalists, 2024 All-American and All-Conference selections, and 2025 Preseason All-American and Preseason All-Conference selections.

The number of eligible candidates for the Ray Guy Award will grow when the award opens nominations, and candidates will be added to the watch list throughout the season. The complete list of candidates will be released Nov. 5, and in mid-November the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists. A national body of FBS sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists to be announced in late November. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2025.

The Hilltoppers are scheduled to open the 2025 season with a Week 0 CUSA game against Sam Houston on Aug. 23 at Houchens-Smith Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.