By: Nash Loibl, Advanced Graduate Assistant / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – South Dakota Mines senior Braydon Jones is the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Academic Player of the Year, the league announced Thursday. Announced alongside Jones’ award were the 2024-25 First Team Academic All-RMAC selections and honor roll.

Jones, a product of Aberdeen, South Dakota, earns his second consecutive Academic Player of the Year honor with a 4.00 grade-point average in electrical engineering. The Academic Athlete of the Year honor is Jones’ second academic achievement award this year, following his third Summit Award ahead of the 2025 RMAC Men’s Golf Championship in April.

Jones competed in eight tournaments for the Hardrockers, Jones achieved a season-best 10th-place finish at the Hardrocker Fall Invite held Sept. 16-17. His efforts once again earned him a spot among the Top 200 players in the highly competitive South Central region. Jones leads an eight-member First Team Academic All-RMAC roster, representing five of the league’s seven men’s golf sponsoring institutions. Colorado Mesa’s Cole Beyer, Colorado Christian’s Ben Fowler, Colorado State University Pueblo’s Evan Smith, and Colorado School of Mines’ Lukas Taggart join Jones as repeat honorees from last season.

In addition, the RMAC recognized 29 student-athletes, including the eight Academic All-RMAC honorees, on its 2025 Men’s Golf 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.  

2025 First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
(as selected by RMAC athletics communications directors)
Student-Athlete	School	Class.	GPA	Major	Hometown
Braydon Jones (1)	South Dakota Mines	Sr.	4.00	Electrical Engineering	Aberdeen, S.D.
Cole Beyer (2)	Colorado Mesa	Sr.	3.81	Geosciences	Woodburn, Ore.
Ben Fowler (2)	Colorado Christian	Sr.	3.84	Engineering	Fayetteville, Ark.
Peyton Jones	Colorado Christian	Jr.	3.70	Business	Roswell, N.M.
Max Lange	Colorado School of Mines	Jr.	3.85	Mechanical Engineering	Golden, Colo.
Carter Lolli	Colorado School of Mines	Jr.	3.81	Mechanical Engineering	Phoenix, Ariz.
Evan Smith (2)	CSU Pueblo	Jr.	4.00	Economics	Pueblo, Colo.
Lukas Taggart (2)	Colorado School of Mines	Jr.	3.94	Mechanical Engineering	Washoe Valley, Nev.
Notes: Gold background indicates RMAC Academic Player of the Year. A (1) indicates the student-athlete is a three-time First-Team Academic All-RMAC Selection. A (2) indicates the student-athlete is a two-time First Team Academic All-RMAC Selection