COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior guard
Zach Smith and redshirt freshman guard
Jackson Schauer both earned spots on the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll as the league office announced its men's basketball academic awards on Monday afternoon.
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.
Smith has a 3.73 GPA as a sport, fitness and recreation major. In his second season at Chadron State, Smith embraced a larger role, improving his 13.5 minutes per game in 2024-25 to playing 26.9 minutes per game in 2025-26, appearing in 25 contests and making 18 starts. Smith averaged 8.1 points, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steal per game for the Eagles this season.
The Connecticut native showed out in big moments for CSC this season. Smith's all-time NCAA career-high came in the final game of the season on his Senior Day, when he poured in 24 points against Westminster. Smith also buried a go-ahead three-pointer with nine seconds left against UMary on November 19 to lift the Eagles to a win in that game.
Schauer also has a 3.73 GPA as a business administration major. The redshirt freshman, who hails from Faith, South Dakota, averaged 12.5 minutes per game across 27 games in his first on-court action for the Eagles after sitting out last season to develop. Schauer averaged just over four points per game and racked up 29 rebounds, 12 steals, eight assists and a block.
Schauer had a career night on February 12 against MSU Denver, when he caught fire from three-point range and scored 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting from deep. Schauer's explosive night helped the Eagles erase a 21-point first-half deficit and rally to defeat the Roadrunners. Schauer averaged 34.2 percent from three for the season.
Black Hills State's Cam Lowe was named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year. Seven of the RMAC's 15 schools placed at least one player on the league's 10-player All-Academic First Team.
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.
