By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa University sophomore linebacker Charlie Smith and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology redshirt senior quarterback Jake Martinelli are the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Players of the Year in football announced on Tuesday and presented by Barnes & Noble College.

Smith and Martinelli are also First Team Academic All-RMAC members, selected by the league’s football athletic communications directors. In addition, the RMAC announced the 2024 football Academic Honor Roll list.

Smith, an Arvada, Colorado product, entered this season with a 4.00 GPA while majoring in construction management at Colorado Mesa. He finished second in the league with 96 tackles this season, including 7.5 for loss, and had two interceptions. Smith helped pace a Mavericks defense that led the RMAC in scoring defense (16.5 points per game), passing yardage allowed (120.2 yards per game), and total defense (249.8 yards allowed per game).

Martinelli, a Scottsdale, Arizona native, has a 3.99 GPA as a chemical engineering major at South Dakota Mines. He ranked among Division II’s Top 25 in both completions per game (20.9) and touchdown passes (22). He ranked second in the RMAC in total offense (217.5 yards per game) and touchdown passes while leading the league in completions per game.

Smith and Martinelli lead a 29-member First Team Academic All-RMAC group, representing eight of the league’s 10 football-playing institutions. Nine student-athletes returned as First Team Academic All-RMAC selections from last season’s team: Black Hills State’s Cameron Rieman, Chadron State linebacker Logan O’Brien, Colorado School of Mines safety Will Ramsey and punter Blake Doud, CSU Pueblo running back Moosah Alsaffar, South Dakota Mines tight end Henry Dryden, defensive back Kaleb Tischler, and kicker/punter Connor Taylor, and Western Colorado defensive lineman Ricky Freymond.

In addition, the RMAC recognized 220 student-athletes, including the 29 Academic All-RMAC honorees, on its 2024 Football Academic Honor Roll.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport who academically maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, have completed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.

Each institution’s athletic communications directors nominate student-athletes who academically maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, along with the other criteria for the Academic Honor Roll, for recognition on the First Team Academic All-RMAC in each sport. The league’s athletic communications directors for that sport vote to compose the First Team Academic All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.  

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 67 NCAA Division II national champions and 54 national runners-up since 1992.
 
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2024 First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
(as selected by RMAC athletics communications directors)
Student-Athlete	School	Class	Pos.	GPA	Major	Hometown
OFFENSE
Moosah Alsaffar (1)	CSU Pueblo	So.	RB	3.90	Accounting	Aurora, Colo.
Steven Croell	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	QB	3.77	Business Management/Marketing	Broomfield, Colo.
Henry Dryden (1)	South Dakota Mines	RJr.	TE	3.83	Metallurgical Engineering	Boise, Idaho
Tyler Dvorak	CSU Pueblo	RJr.	TE	3.76	Pre-Business	Englewood, Colo.
Holden Gilbert	South Dakota Mines	Sr.	RB	3.76	Civil Engineering	Cottonwood, Calif.
Sam Horneck	Colorado Mesa	RJr.	TE	3.82	Criminal Justice	Evergreen, Colo.
Peter Krohn	Chadron State	Sr.	TE	3.89	Physical Sciences	Fort Collins, Colo.
Jake Martinelli	South Dakota Mines	RSr.	QB	3.99	Chemical Engineering	Scottsdale, Ariz.
Drew Nash	Western Colorado	RJr.	QB	3.61	Exercise & Sport Science	Torrance, Calif.
Cameron Reiman (1)	Black Hills State	RSr.	OL	3.89 4.00	B.A. Accounting Applied Management (grad.)	Monument, Colo.
Cayden Walton	New Mexico Highlands	So.	RB	3.90	Computer Science	Raton, N.M.
Chance Wiening	Western Colorado	Gr.	OL	3.90 3.94	B.S. Exercise & Sport Science Exercise & Sport Science (grad.)	Torrance, Calif.
DEFENSE
Joel Diaz	Colorado School of Mines	RJr.	S	3.92	Mechanical Engineering	Gilbert, Ariz.
Ricky Freymond (1)	Western Colorado	RJr.	DL	3.57	Business Administration	Chino, Calif.
Hunter Newsom	South Dakota Mines	Sr.	LB	3.76	Civil Engineering	Grain Valley, Mo.
Jon Nuschy	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	LB	3.62	Management	La Junta, Colo.
Logan O’Brien (1)	Chadron State	Jr.	LB	3.96	Business, Marketing, and Information Technology Education (Grades 6-12)	Kearney, Neb.
Hunter O’Connor	Chadron State	Sr.	DE	3.50	Sport, Fitness, & Recreation	Broomfield, Colo.
Sebastian O’Farrell	Black Hills State	Jr.	LB	4.00	Psychology	Anchorage, Alaska
Will Ramsey (1)	Colorado School of Mines	RSo.	S	3.98	Computer Science	Argyle, Texas
Charlie Smith	Colorado Mesa	So.	LB	4.00	Construction Management	Arvada, Colo.
Colin Stuhr	Colorado Mesa	RJr.	LB	3.61	Construction Management	Littleton, Colo.
Jason Thome	Colorado Mesa	So.	DB	3.86	Business Administration	Arvada, Colo.
Kaleb Tischler (1)	South Dakota Mines	Sr.	DB	3.88	Business Administration in Technology	Arvada, Colo.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kash Bradley	Colorado Mesa	Jr.	n	3.81	Exercise Science	Bushland, Texas
Blake Doud (1)	Colorado School of Mines	RJr.	P	3.67	Mechanical Engineering	Parker, Colo.
Brodie Eisenbraun	Chadron State	Jr.	P	3.96	Sport, Fitness, & Recreation	Sturgis, S.D.
Evan Lyons	CSU Pueblo	So.	K	4.00	Pre-Business	Superior, Colo.
Connor Taylor (1)	South Dakota Mines	Sr.	K/P	3.68	Electrical Engineering	Longmont, Colo.
Notes: A (1) indicates the student-athlete was a 2023 First-Team Academic All-RMAC honoree.