FRESNO, Calif. - With one week until kickoff of the 2025 season, Fresno State football head coach Matt Entz announced the team captains for the year ahead. Seniors Camryn Bracha, Al'zillion Hamilton, Jadon Pearson and Jacob Spomer have been named team captains as voted on by their peers.
All four are first-time season captains, and all have a different journey to and at Fresno State.
Bracha, a third-year defensive back for the Bulldogs, transferred in as a walk-on from Fresno City College. He came in and made an immediate impact in 2023, appearing in 11 games and earning four starts that season. The journey for Bracha since then has not been easy, working through a handful of injuries including a season-ending one last year. His injury at New Mexico last season turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With a redshirt year still available, Bracha suffered his injury in the fourth game of the season and was able to get the year back to return for the 2025 season.
A Clovis native, Bracha is a faith-driven individual who aims to lead by example each day.
"It is definitely a dream come true as a local kid," said Bracha on the opportunity to lead the team. "I believe it is the highest honor in all of sports. At the end of the day it is all about the team and representing the red helmet the right way and I am excited to get to do that this season."
Hamilton has been with the program since 2021, being one of 11 players on the 2025 roster to begin and end their careers at Fresno State. The 2025 preseason has already been a loaded one for Hamilton, earning a handful of preseason watch list recognitions and now the honor of team captain. The senior Bulldog has elevated his game on the field each season, closing out the 2024 season among the best defensive backs in the country.
Hamilton enters 2025 as the most experienced Bulldog on the roster, appearing in 42 career games in his four years with Fresno State. Beginning primarily as a special teams contributor, Hamilton has 23 career starts – the second most among the Bulldogs.
"It is a blessing to be a leader for my team," said Hamilton. "I have been working since my freshman year to get an opportunity like this, and it is all a part of God's plan to put me in this position."
Pearson joined the team in January of 2025 as a transfer from Utah State. The Arizona native enters his sixth season of college football, at his fifth school. Beginning his career at Air Force (2020), he transferred to Reedley College in the Central Valley in 2021 after deciding the Academy was not the right fit for him. He played two seasons at Utah (2022-23) and one at Utah State (2024) before making his return to the Central Valley.
Pearson becomes the first first-year Bulldog to be named team captain in the team vote since linebacker Tyson Maeva in 2021. That year, Maeva transferred in from FIU as a graduate transfer similar to Pearson. The two alike came into the program and were able to earn the respect from their teammates through efforts on and off the field. Of all his years and different programs, Pearson has earned the honor of being a season team captain for the first time in his career.
"Being voted as a captain by my teammates after only being here since January is an extraordinary honor," said Pearson. "I am so thankful that I joined a group of guys that took me in immediately and helped me get acclimated. The togetherness we have in the locker room is what helped me show my true self and I'm just happy and honored that my teammates felt that I was fit to lead them for this upcoming season. I am truly blessed to help lead this group of men for the 2025 season."
Spomer has been a consistent leader on the offensive line, although dealing with injury in the 2023-24 seasons. As a junior college transfer ahead of the 2022 year, Spomer was the only first year Division I player to start on a consistent basis for the Bulldogs that year. Beginning his career at left tackle, he has made the move to center this season. Spomer returns with the program's most career starts as a Bulldog, entering the year with 28 in his 29 career games played.
"It is a blessing to be picked by my teammates to be captain of this team," said Spomer. "I give God all my glory."
The four selected team captains will lead the team into the Week 0 game at Kansas on Aug. 23. Fresno State will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT on FOX.