By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s head football coaches named Colorado State University Pueblo senior wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff and Western Colorado redshirt junior defensive end Ricky Freymond the league’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, highlighting the 2024 All-RMAC Football Teams announced Wednesday.

In addition, Colorado School of Mines junior punter Blake Doud is the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year for a second consecutive season. New Mexico Highlands running back Tevita Valeti and Western Colorado outside linebacker Cameron Cooper claimed the league’s top freshman honors. Western Colorado head coach Jas Bains is the RMAC Coach of the Year for the third time.

The 2024 All-RMAC Football Teams recognized 61 of the league’s best football players on its first and second teams. In addition, 69 student-athletes are on the honorable mention list. The All-RMAC Football Teams are nominated by their head coaches and selected by the league’s 15 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.

Retzlaff is the first CSU Pueblo player to win the league’s Offensive Player of the Year honor since Cameron McDondle in 2015 and the fourth ThunderWolves athlete to earn the award.  He finished the regular season with 64 receptions for 1,169 yards and 12 touchdowns. Retzlaff set or tied the CSU Pueblo single-season marks in all three categories and is the program’s second receiver to record 1,000 yards in a season. He is third among Division II receivers with 116.9 yards per game and eighth in receiving touchdowns. Retzlaff did his best work in RMAC play, with 50 receptions for 854 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

Freymond is the fourth Mountaineer to win the Defensive Player of the Year honor, joining Josh Hotchkiss (2000 and 2001) and Will Lydle (2021). He led the RMAC with 20 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks during the season, averaging 5.1 tackles per game. Freymond is fifth among Division II athletes with 1.8 tackles for loss per game and ninth with 0.86 sacks per game. He carried that effort into league play, where he had league-bests with 18 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

Doud is only the second athlete to repeat as the Special Teams Player of the Year, joining Colorado School of Mines’ Brian Sump (2001 and 2002). He led all Division II punters with a 46.56-punting average on 41 punts. He placed 19 of those inside the 20-yard line and 13 punts went for 50-plus yards, including an 80-yarder. Colorado School of Mines led all Division II teams in net punting at 42.80 yards per punt, with opponents only managing 94 yards in returns and getting three touchbacks off Doud’s punting.

Valeti made a splash in his first season, leading all Division II freshman running backs and finishing second among all RMAC backs with 880 rushing yards on a league-high 166 carries and eight touchdowns. He posted three 100-yard rushing performances during the season, all in RMAC play, where he amassed 793 rushing yards on 158 carries with eight touchdowns.

Cooper finished third among Western Colorado defenders with 54 tackles in his rookie season, scoring 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and two interceptions at outside linebacker. He had the RMAC’s longest interception return this season, a 96-yard pick-six against West Texas A&M in the season’s second week.

Bains claims his third RMAC Coach of the Year award, all in the past four seasons. He led the Mountaineers to a 10-1 overall record, an 8-1 RMAC mark, and claimed the No. 2 seed in NCAA Division II Football Championship’s Super Region 4. It is the third time Bains has led WCU to a 10-win season and he is 37-9 over the last four seasons in Gunnison.

The 2024 All-RMAC Football Teams are highlighted by nine first-team and eight second-team honorees returning from the 2023 All-RMAC Football Teams and 16 players on last season’s honorable mention list. Both of last season’s Freshmen of the Year honorees also return, with CSU Pueblo offensive lineman Senon Chapple earning first-team recognition while teammate Gary Seidenberger was a second-team selection at outside linebacker this season.

2024 First Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
QB	Drew Nash  (H)	Western Colorado	6-2	215	RJr.	Torrance, Calif.
RB	Howard Russell V (H)	CSU Pueblo	6-1	200	Sr.	Phoenix, Ariz.
RB	Tevita Valeti	New Mexico Highlands	6-0	210	Fr.	Springville, Utah
WR	Max McLeod (1)	Colorado School of Mines	6-3	200	RSr.	Seattle, Wash.
WR	Reggie Retzlaff (2)	CSU Pueblo	6-3	212	Sr.	Corona, Calif.
WR	Flynn Schiele (H)	Colorado School of Mines	6-4	205	RJr.	West Linn, Ore.
TE	Henry Dryden (1)	South Dakota Mines	6-3	220	RJr.	Boise, Idaho
OL	Stevie Byron (H)	Western Colorado	6-4	290	Gr.	Ketchikan, Alaska
OL	Senon Chapple (H, FRotY)	CSU Pueblo	6-1	275	So.	Fort Worth, Texas
OL	Tyler Ethridge	CSU Pueblo	6-4	283	So.	Midlothian, Texas
OL	Jayson Rouse	Black Hills State	6-4	285	RJr.	Angleton, Texas
OL	Nic Van de Graaf (2)	Colorado School of Mines	6-3	305	RSr.	Houston, Texas
2024 First Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Defense
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
DE	Ricky Freymond (2)	Western Colorado	6-5	265	RJr.	Chino, Calif.
DE	Hunter O’Connor (1)	Chadron State	6-3	260	Sr.	Broomfield, Colo.
DT	Kellen Collier (H)	Black Hills State	5-10	270	RJr.	Willard, Utah
DT	Dominick Fini (H)	CSU Pueblo	6-2	271	RSr.	Colorado Springs, Colo.
ILB	Kendall Lightfoot (1)	Western Colorado	6-1	255	Gr.	Las Vegas, Nev.
ILB	Adrian Moreno (1)	Colorado School of Mines	6-0	210	RSr.	Bakersfield, Calif.
OLB	Jaden Healy (1)	Colorado School of Mines	6-0	210	RSr.	Allen, Texas
OLB	Colin Stuhr (H)	Colorado Mesa	6-0	215	RJr.	Littleton, Colo.
S	Daniel Bone III (1)	CSU Pueblo	6-0	195	Sr.	Colorado Springs, Colo.
S	Dax Yeradi (H)	Chadron State	6-0	195	Jr.	Wright, Wyo.
CB	Donovan English	CSU Pueblo	6-0	170	So.	Pomona, Calif.
CB	JaCari Williams (2)	Colorado Mesa	5-7	170	Sr.	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
2024 First Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Special Teams
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
PK	Connor Taylor	South Dakota Mines	6-1	180	Sr.	Longmont, Colo.
P	Blake Doud (1, PotY)	Colorado School of Mines	6-5	215	RJr.	Parker, Colo.
PR	Kash Bradley (H)	Colorado Mesa	5-11	165	Jr.	Bushland, Texas
PR	Zack Rakowsky (H)	CSU Pueblo	5-8	141	Jr.	Loveland, Colo.
KR	Kash Bradley (H)	Colorado Mesa	5-11	165	Jr.	Bushland, Texas
LS	Josh Wojciechowicz	Colorado School of Mines	6-3	245	Sr.	Bridgeport, W.Va.
Notes/Symbols in parentheses: Two punt returners due to a tie in the voting; PotY – was a Player of the Year at their position group in 2023; FRotY – was a Freshman of the Year at their position group in 2023; 1 -was a First Team All-RMAC selection in 2023; 2 - was a Second Team All-RMAC selection in 2023; H - was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection in 2023.

2024 Second Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
QB	Evan Foster	Colorado School of Mines	6-1	200	RSr.	Olathe, Kan.
RB	Aiden Taylor	Colorado Mesa	5-11	215	Jr.	Modesto, Calif.
RB	Landon Walker (H)	Colorado School of Mines	6-2	225	RJr.	Fort Worth, Texas
WR	Josiah Ayon	Western Colorado	6-3	200	Jr.	Fresno, Calif.
WR	Teneil Nichols	New Mexico Highlands	6-2	180	Sr.	Exeter, Calif.
WR	Tommy Thomas (1)	Chadron State	6-2	190	Jr.	Fort Collins, Colo.
TE	Daniel Parsek	Western Colorado	6-1	230	RJr.	Johnstown, Colo.
OL	Zach Brumfield	Western Colorado	6-5	270	RJr.	Las Vegas, Nev.
OL	AJ Kelly	South Dakota Mines	6-6	310	RJr.	Rock Springs, Wyo.
OL	Cade Myer	Colorado School of Mines	6-1	305	RSo.	Frisco, Texas
OL	Cooper Mumford	Colorado Mesa	6-4	275	So.	Highland, Utah
OL	Domingo Prince II (2)	CSU Pueblo	6-2	320	Jr.	Aurora, Colo.
2024 Second Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Defense
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
DE	Mylic Ritche	Black Hills State	6-4	255	RSr.	Ardmore, Okla.
DE	Makeah Scippio (H)	CSU Pueblo	6-4	235	Sr.	Colorado Springs, Colo.
DT	Mikey Smith	Western Colorado	5-11	280	RFr.	Colorado Springs, Colo.
DT	James Turrentine (2)	CSU Pueblo	6-1	308	Sr.	Elk Grove, Calif.
ILB	Jacob Penney	Fort Lewis	6-0	200	RSo.	Sparks, Nev.
ILB	Gary Seidenberger (H, FRotY)	CSU Pueblo	6-1	220	So.	Fredericksburg, Texas
OLB	Xavier Harrell (H)	Chadron State	6-4	240	Sr.	Highlands Ranch, Colo.
OLB	Cy Shope (2)	Western Colorado	6-3	215	Sr.	Pottsboro, Texas
S	Nicc Quinones	Black Hills State	5-7	190	RSr.	Peoria, Ariz.
S	Liban Shongolo (H)	Colorado Mesa	6-0	200	RSr.	Commerce City, Colo.
CB	Keith Mckaney (H)	CSU Pueblo	6-0	181	Jr.	Avondale, Ariz.
CB	Jackson Zimmermann (1)	Colorado School of Mines	6-1	185	RJr.	Highlands Ranch, Colo.
2024 Second Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Special Teams
Pos.	Player	School	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
PK	Matt Eich	Colorado School of Mines	5-9	180	RJr.	Broomfield, Colo.
P	Brodie Eisenbraun (2)	Chadron State	6-2	195	Jr.	Sturgis, S.D.
PR	Jack Jones	Western Colorado	5-9	170	Sr.	Olympia, Wash.
KR	Orlando Guevara	Fort Lewis	5-7	155	Fr.	Denver, Colo.
LS	Zac Heaton	Western Colorado	6-0	230	RSr.	Centennial, Colo.
Notes/Symbols in parentheses: PotY – was a Player of the Year at their position group in 2023; FRotY – was a Freshman of the Year at their position group in 2023; 1 -was a First Team All-RMAC selection in 2023; 2 - was a Second Team All-RMAC selection in 2023; H - was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection in 2023.

2024 Honorable Mention All-RMAC: Football

ADAMS STATE: Christian Toeleiu (ILB), Brysen Gardner (PK)
BLACK HILLS STATE: Anthony Rosenstrauch (LS); Cameron Goods (RB); Lovenski Simon (CB); Luke Duby (QB); Sebastian O'Farrell (ILB); Zecheriah Rodriguez-Brown (CB).
CHADRON STATE: Omar Ali (CB); Nicholas Gossage (OL); Peter Krohn (TE); Logan O'Brien (ILB); Tucker Peterson (S); Tanner True (DT); Wilson Yee (Placekicker); Dax Yeradi (PR).
COLORADO MESA: Kash Bradley (CB); Brandon Belgrave (RB); Calem Grimble (OL); Hunter Hamilton (DT); Levi Krebs (ILB); Noah Greer (KR); Charlie Smith (ILB); Jason Thome (S).
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES: Chandler Poggensee (OL); Hayden Gregg (ILB); Joel Diaz (S); Josh Pollard (DT); Will Ramsey (S).
CSU PUEBLO: Arthur Braach (OL); Tyler Dvorak (TE); Jaiden Jones (OL); Jon Nuschy (ILB); Eli Pittman (CB); Zack Rakowsky (WR); Cody Ramming (DE); Reece Robinson (PR); Kahden Rullo (S); Jusiah Sampleton (DT); Peyton Shaw (S); Brayden Starmer (LS); Taylor Tosches (WR); Thomas Webb Jr. (S); Ben Wilson (CB).
FORT LEWIS: Kalib Davis (S); Jacob LaCroix (OL); Cheilotam Udengwu (OL); Hunter Villavicencio (P).
NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS: Joey Cave (QB); Mike Jones (WR); Mike Jones (KR).
SOUTH DAKOTA MINES: Caleb Franklin (DE); Connor Taylor (P); Holden Gilbert (RB); Hunter Newsom (ILB); Isaac Engle (OLB); Jake Martinelli (QB); Keegan Tandy (OL); Kevin Bruxvoort (OL); Trevor Griffin (OL); William Lester (CB).
WESTERN COLORADO: Cameron Cooper (OLB); Braeden Hogan (RB); Kasen James (OL); Bryce Lucas (CB); Cole Riters (WR); Ethan Sanchez-Maxwell (S); Chance Wiening (OL); Jaydon Young (DE).
 
About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colo., with 15 member institutions. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 54 national runners-up since 1992.