A two-time FCS national champion at South Dakota State who parlayed a grad-transfer season at Northwestern into a seventh-round pick.
Evan Beerntsen was a zero-star recruit with no Division I FBS offers out of high school, but six years of development at South Dakota State turned him into a two-time national champion before a final season at Northwestern put him on the Ravens' radar. Baltimore closed out the 2026 draft by taking the Wisconsin native as its last pick.
Path to the league
Beerntsen grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and starred at Appleton North High School, but drew no FBS scholarship offers. He spent six seasons at South Dakota State before transferring to Northwestern for his final year of eligibility, and the Ravens selected him with the 253rd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Beerntsen started on South Dakota State teams that won back-to-back FCS national championships in 2022 and 2023 and earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors in 2024. He then started all 13 games at guard for Northwestern in 2025, allowing zero sacks and zero quarterback hits, and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention recognition.
2025 season recap
In his lone season at Northwestern, Beerntsen anchored the Wildcats' offensive line at guard, starting all 13 games without allowing a sack, production that helped him land on Baltimore's board as the highest-rated player available with the Ravens' final pick.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Evan Beerntsen
- Baltimore Ravens: 5 Things to Know About Evan Beerntsen
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Guard
- Group
- offense
- College
- Northwestern
- Hometown
- De Pere, WI, USA
- Age
- 25
- Status
- active
