ST. LOUIS Adam Bock was honored as the 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and six other South Dakota State student-athletes were named Wednesday to the leagues Scholar-Athlete Team. Selections were determined by a vote among the conferences sports information directors.
A linebacker from Solon, Iowa, Bock carries a 3.85 grade-point average while pursuing a masters of engineering degree. He also earned his fourth first-team selection to the academic honor squad after previously completing an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a 3.83 GPA.
On the field, Bock finished the 2024 regular season as the Jackrabbits team leader in tackles with 75 en route to first-team all-MVFC recognition for the third time in his career.
Joining Bock on the 14-member MVFC Scholar-Athlete First Team were quarterback Mark Gronowski and wide receiver Griffin Wilde. Gronowski, who earned first-team honors for the third consecutive season, holds a 4.0 GPA as an engineering management graduate student after compiling a 3.76 undergraduate GPA in mechanical engineering.
In addition to being a four-time all-league selection, Gronowski previously was honored as an FCS Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023 and was the Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision that same season.
A sophomore from Sioux Falls, Wilde has turned in a 3.90 GPA as a business economics major and has been the teams leading receiver in 2024.
Four other Jackrabbits received second-team honors, including defensive tackle Jarod DePriest. A native of Trivoli, Illinois, DePriest posted 3.66 GPA while studying for a masters degree in economics and has played a key role on a Jackrabbit unit that ranks in the top five among FCS programs in both scoring defense and rushing defense.
Also honored on the defensive side of the ball on the MVFC Scholar-Athlete Second Team were junior defensive end Levi Vanden Bos and sophomore linebacker Bryce Johnson. Vanden Bos, from Rock Valley, Iowa, has compiled a 3.96 GPA in agricultural systems technology and is in his first year as a starter, while Johnson has been a solid contributor on special teams and has turned in a 3.91 GPA as a human biology/pre-medicine major.
Completing SDSUs list of second-team honorees was long snapper Kaydon Olivia with a 3.96 GPA as a sport and recreation management major. He is a native of Schertz, Texas.
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