GREENWOOD, Ind. – Four individuals headline a group of outstanding student-athletes named to the 2025 Academic All-America® football teams as selected by the College Sports Communicators.  Quarterback Blake Horvath from the U.S. Naval Academy, quarterback Jack Strand from Minnesota State University Moorhead, wide receiver Robby Ballentine from DePauw University and defensive lineman Zach Myers from Evangel University were named as the Academic All-America® Team Members of the Year for NCAA Divisions I, II and III, and NAIA, respectively.  All four CSC Academic All-American Team Members of the Year will be prominently featured at the annual Maxwell Awards Gala March 14 at the Coca-Cola Roxy concert venue located in The Battery Atlanta.

Five in the MVFC have earned Academic All-America honors.   WR Bryce Lance of North Dakota State and DL Kobe Claybourne of South Dakota State earned first-team honors.   DB Dylan Rowsey of Murray State, P Max Pelham of South Dakota State, and ST David Neuberger of North Dakota earned second-team honors.

To qualify for the CSC Academic All-America® Team, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore in academics and athletics, and have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (undergraduate and graduate, if applicable). Football players must compete in 90 percent of their team's games or start in at least 66 percent of the team's games.

2025 CSC Academic All-America Team (PDF)

Bryce Lance, a senior from Marshall, Minn., earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in business administration from North Dakota State. He was previously named to the 2024 and 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete first team.  On the field, Lance was first team All-MVFC for the second straight season and earned FCS All-America first team honors from Stats Perform, the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, FCS Football Central, the FCS Athletic Directors Association and Phil Steele. He finished 12th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS offensive player of the year.  Lance led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 83.0 receiving yards per game and became the first receiver in Bison history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons. He caught eight touchdown passes and made 51 catches for 1,079 yards, the 11th most yards among FCS players in 2025.
 
A graduate student from Sioux City, Iowa, Kobe Clayborne was selected to the first team after compiling a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as both an undergraduate and graduate student while majoring in finance and business economics. He received Academic All-America recognition for the second time in his collegiate career, after previously being named to the Division II Second Team in 2023 while playing at Northwest Missouri State. On the field, Clayborne saw action at both defensive end and defensive tackle during his two seasons at SDSU. He finished the 2025 season with 41 total tackles, including eight tackles for loss and four sacks, en route to All-America selections by the American Football Coaches Association (second team), Stats Perform (third team) and Associated Press (honorable mention). Clayborne also was honored as the 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Max Pelham, a senior from Ankeny Iowa, was named to the second team after posting a 3.64 GPA as a civil engineering major. He averaged an MVFC-best 47.2 yards per punt during the 2025 season, with 18 of his 42 attempts traveling 50 or more yards. In addition, Pelham was a first-team All-America pick by the AFCA and an honorable mention selection by The Associated Press.  Miami (Fla.) led the 50-player squad with four selections - two on both the first and second teams - while SDSU, Montana, Montana State and New Mexico each had two honorees.

David Neuberger becomes the first football player at North Dakota to earn this prestigious academic honor since 2009 and the first overall student-athlete at UND to be selected as an Academic All-American since 2021.  The senior never missed a game over his four seasons and helped the UND specialist group consistently rank near the top of the FCS. Off the field, Neuberger was a two-time MVFC Scholar-Athlete, earning first team honors this season.  He is one of 14 members of the team to boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate work, as he earned a 4.00 GPA as a kinesiology major.

Dylan Rowsey anchored Murray State's secondary as one of the MVFC's most productive tacklers. He ranked third nationally with 11.6  total tackles per game and led the nation with 89 solo tackles. In conference play, Rowsey recorded 82 tackles with 2 interceptions. For the season, Rowsey recorded 139 total tackles (89 solos), with 2.5 TFLs (four yards in losses), 1 sack for two yards, and he added two  interceptions, one PBU, one QB hurry, 1 fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.


Division I
Horvath, who has a 3.69 cumulative grade-point average as an operations research major, led Navy to a program-best 11-2 record, the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, a bowl win and the Lambert Trophy, which is presented to the best team in the East in FBS college football. The dual-threat quarterback totaled 1,200 rushing yards, which were second-most among FBS quarterbacks, and 16 rushing touchdowns to go along with 1,580 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air. The Hilliard, Ohio, native became the first Navy quarterback to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and the third to surpass 1,200 yards passing and rushing in a single year. Off the field, Horvath was a finalist for the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy® and earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. He was awarded the Maxwell Football Club’s inaugural Military Service Academy Leadership Award, which honors a player from one of the United States Military Service Academies who exemplifies exceptional leadership both on the football field and within their academy community.
 
Fourteen members of the Academic All-America® Division I football teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate work. The 25 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.83, with the entire 50-man list holding a collective average GPA of 3.81.
 
Two student-athletes – Kobe Clayborne (South Dakota State University) and Tanner Wall (BYU) – are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division I football teams, while Hunter Peck (University of Montana) was named to the Academic All-America® NAIA first team from Carroll College in 2024.
 
Division II
Strand, who has a 3.87 GPA as an engineering physics major, led Division II this fall in completions per game (27.55), passing touchdowns (42) and points responsible for (286), and was second in passing yards per game (322.4) and total offense (348.5 ypg). He was also fifth in passing yards (3,546) and directed the Dragons to an 8-3 record this fall. The Bloomer, Wisconsin, native was named an All-American by three different entities and was selected as the D2CCA Region 3 and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second time. He was a finalist for both the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is awarded to Division II’s most valuable player, and the NFF’s Campbell Trophy.
 
Seven members of the Academic All-America® Division II football teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate work. The 23 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.79, with the entire 45-man team holding a collective average GPA of 3.80.
 
Fifteen other student-athletes join Strand as repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division II football teams: Kash Bradley (Colorado Mesa University); Ty Dugger (Harding University); Slade Edwards (Central Washington University); Michael Henwood (Slippery Rock University); Braden Jay (Harding University); Alex Kowalczyk (Wayne State College); Mitch Middleton (Ferris State University); Zack Rakowsky (CSU Pueblo); Freddie Retter (Kutztown University); Brady Rose (Ferris State University); Shea Ruddy (Hillsdale College); Tyler Schultze (Emporia State University); Josh Shaw (Fort Hays State University); Brett Weaver (Grand Valley State University); and Chance Wiening (Western Colorado University).
 
The Division II Academic All-America® program is financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division II Academic All-America® program.
 
Division III
Ballentine, who had a 3.92 GPA as a biochemistry major, ended the 2025 season fourth in Division III in receiving yards (1,314), seventh in receiving touchdowns (16), eighth in receiving yards per game (109.5) and 14th in receptions per game (7.67). He led DePauw (10-2, 7-1 NCAC) to the NCAA third round and was named the 2025 Mike Gregory Award recipient as the North Coast Athletic Conference’s offensive player of the year. Ballentine was also named an All-American by the AFCA, D3football.com and Associated Press, and was a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is awarded to Division III’s most outstanding player. The Crown Point, Indiana, native earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as the only Division III finalist for the NFF’s Campbell Trophy.
 
Seven honorees on the Academic All-America® Division III football teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The 25-man first team has an average GPA of 3.85, with the entire 51-man team combining for a collective 3.82 GPA.
 
Six student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division III football teams: Ballentine; Caleb Brubaker (Grove City College); Zach Frank (Saint John’s University); Jereme Ombogo (North Park University); Gavin Smith (Central College); and Dylan Wheeler (Saint John’s University). Another 2025 honoree, Ethan Burrows (Adrian College), was named to the Academic All-America® NAIA first team from Concordia Ann Arbor in 2024.
 
The Division III Academic All-America® program is financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division III Academic All-America® program.
 
NAIA
Myers, who has a 3.93 GPA as a leadership & ministry major, ended his collegiate career as a consensus All-American, totaling 15 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks to lead the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, of which also named him its Defensive Player of the Year. A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Myers earned first-team All-America honors for the first time in his career in 2025 and helped Evangel to a 9-3 record, the KCAC Kessinger Division title and its second NAIA postseason berth in the last three seasons.
 
Three members of the 25-man Academic All-America® NAIA football teams – Derek Pearse (Montana Technological University), Zach Quiring (Dordt University) and Landon Ruesink (Dakota Wesleyan University) – boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate work. The NAIA honorees combined for a 3.76 GPA.
 
Four student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® NAIA football team: Reid Messer (Taylor University); Derek Pearse (Montana Technological University); Isaac Smith (Indiana Wesleyan University); and Trystin Voss (Northwestern College).
 
The NAIA Academic All-America® program is financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 NAIA Academic All-America® program.
 
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit https://academicallamerica.com/.