AUSTIN, Texas— Colorado Mesa University standout football student-athletes Kash Bradley and Charlie Smith have both been named to the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division II Academic All-America® Teams, which were announced by the organization on Tuesday morning.
 
Bradley was a first team selection in the special teams selection while Smith earned second team plaudits at linebacker.
 
Bradley also earned second team honors as a defensive back in 2023 and joins Creed James (2005-06), Trent deBraga (2011-12) and Dagan Rienks (2021-22) as just the fourth Maverick football player to ever earn a pair of Academic All-America® accolades.
 
He is a junior exercise science major from Bushland, Texas and holds a 3.81 GPA.  He has also earned First Team Academic All-RMAC honors in each of the past two seasons.
 
Bradley also picked up a trio of All-RMAC accolades for his on-field play in 2024, claiming first team honors as both a kick and punt returner while garnering honorable mention plaudits as a defensive back.  He was also named to the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-Super Region IV First Team as a return specialist and was named to the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter's All-Colorado Team.  He averaged 26.3 yards on kick returns and 11.6 yards on punt returns while recording 37 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception defensively.
 
Smith, a sophomore construction management major, holds a 4.00 GPA and hails from Arvada, Colorado.  He had earlier been named as the RMAC's Defensive Academic Player of the Year and to the First Team RMAC All-Academic unit.
 
On the field, he was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection and led the Mavericks with 97 tackles, including 32 solos.  He was ranked second in the conference in total tackles and tied for 16^th in the national statistics with his 9.7 per game average and added 7.5 tackles for losses.
 
Smith and Bradley were also key parts of the highly touted Maverick defensive unit, that led the RMAC in scoring and total defense, allowing just 16.5 points and 249.6 yards per game.
 
2024 marks just the third time (2012, 2021) that the Maverick football squad has had two Academic All-America® picks in the same year.
 
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure. For more information about the trademarked CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.