COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The Saint John's University football team was ranked No. 6 in Lindy's Division III Preseason Top 25 poll on sale at newsstands now.

Individually, senior wide receiver Ravi Alston (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) was named to Lindy's preseason All-America second team. SJU and Alston were the MIAC's lone representatives in the poll and preseason All-America teams, respectively. 

Lindy's also showcased the Sept. 25 home game vs. Bethel as one of the five national games to watch.

Alston was named to the Associated Press (AP) Division III All-America second team, one of seven Johnnie All-Americans in 2019, after he finished with 88 receptions for 1,444 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 1,444 receiving yards were third-most in NCAA Division III in 2019 and fell 40 yards shy of the program's single-season record of 1,484 (Blake Elliott '03 in 2002). Alston caught 36 passes for 554 yards and five touchdowns in SJU's four postseason games that fall. He was named to Lindy's preseason All-America first team last summer.

SJU (12-2, 7-1 MIAC) won a share of its MIAC-record 34th conference title and made its sixth consecutive postseason appearance (30th overall, 26th in Division III), advancing to the national semifinals, in 2019. 

The Johnnies begin the 2021 season against Aurora (Ill.), a rematch of the wild 51-47 shootout win in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division III playoffs, at 1 p.m. Sept. 4 in Clemens Stadium. Aurora was ranked No. 22 by Lindy's. The game will be SJU's first in 630 days and one of five at home out of the schedule's first six this fall.