GOULDSBY TAPPED AS NATIONAL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

After becoming the first Blue Dragon player with two punt returns for touchdowns in the same game since 2023, Hutchinson Community College sophomore return specialist Kordell Gouldsby was named the NJCAA Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday.

Gouldsby, a sophomore from Tulsa, Oklahoma, accounted for 161 all-purpose yards in No. 1 Hutchinson's 71-12 victory over Independence last Saturday at Gowans Stadium.

He returned four punts for an average of 11.8 yards, including returns for touchdowns from 34 and 56 yards. Those were his second and third returns for touchdowns – he had an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Dodge City the previous week – of the season and his career fourth and fifth returns for touchdowns in his career.

Gouldsby also had two receptions for 37 yards and one rush for six yards in his all-around day against the Pirates.

Gouldsby is the first Blue Dragon to earn NJCAA National Weekly honors this season and is the first to do so since Waymond Jordan Jr. on November 13, 2024.

The Blue Dragon sophomore is averaging 16.6 yards per punt return on 12 attempts with two touchdowns and he's averaging 29.2 yards per kickoff return on 11 returns with one touchdown this season.

Gouldsby and the Blue Dragons play No. 10 Coffeyville at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Gowans Stadium.