Western Kentucky kicker Lucas Carneiro has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Tuesday.

Carneiro is one of 20 semifinalists for the award and the only semifinalist from Conference USA.

The redshirt sophomore from Cornelius, North Carolina, has gone 11-for-12 on field goals this season and 35-for-35 on point-after attempts. He has made 11 consecutive field goals, which is tied for a program record, and he has connected on all three kicks he has attempted from 50-plus yards, including a 54-yarder, which is tied for the second-longest in program history.

Carneiro was named the CUSA Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, and he has twice been named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week this fall.

Semifinalists will be voted on by a panel of FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced Nov. 26 and honored at the 33rd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Banquet on Dec. 9 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12.

The award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.

Since the first Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 32 finalists, including 17 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 13 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home seven Super Bowls.

WKU will travel to Liberty to face the Flames on Saturday. Kickoff at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, is scheduled for noon CT.