COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the 2024-25 all-conference selections and yearly awards for the sport of men's basketball on Thursday afternoon, highlighted by the selection of Cam Lowe as RMAC Freshman of the Year. In addition to being named the top freshman in the league, Lowe received First Team All-RMAC recognition. Other Yellow Jackets honored in the release were 1,000-point scorer Caelin Hearne receiving Second Team All-RMAC, defensive specialist and offensive facilitator Jaeton Hackley being named Honorable Mention All-RMAC, and the nation's top 3-point shooter Tristan Hurdle being named Honorable Mention All-RMAC.

Lowe becomes the second player in Black Hills State men's basketball history to be named RMAC Freshman of the Year, joining Yellow Jacket legend Joel Scott who did so in 2019-20, and it also marks the sixth consecutive season that BHSU has had a player recognized as First Team All-RMAC. He has emerged as one of the top scorers and rebounders in the conference, averaging 15.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He adds 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting the ball 49.4 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from 3-point range, and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. Among RMAC leaders he currently leads the conference in defensive rebounds per game (6.93), is third in rebounds per game, is fourth in field goals made (159) and points per game, is fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.14) and in total 3-pointers made (62) and is sixth in field goal percentage. He's scored in double figures 23 times on the year. He poured in a career-high of 28 points in a thrilling overtime win at UCCS, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, 6-of-7 from 3-point range, and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, one of nine games of 20 or more points this year. Additionally, as one of the conference's most active rebounders, he's secured eight or more rebounds in 18 contests this season, including ten or more in nine games which includes a career-high of 14 against Augustana. He's posted a team-high eight double-doubles this season. Against Adams State last Thursday night, he scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from 3-point range, matching the BHSU and RMAC record for 3-point percentage as he was the first Yellow Jacket to ever be perfect from beyond the arc on seven attempts and the sixth in conference history.

After earning Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors in 2023-24 and being named to the 2024-25 RMAC Preseason Watch List, Hearne receives Second Team All-RMAC honors this year. In the first round of the RMAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night against MSU Denver, he became the latest Yellow Jacket to join the 1,000-point club, now sitting at 1,004 points and counting in his BHSU career. Among the top scoring threats for the Green & Gold all season long he currently averages 14.1 points while adding 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He has scored in double figures in 22 of the 28 games he's played in this year for the Yellow Jackets, including four times in which he scored 20 or more points and a career-best 30 points in a win over Sioux Falls. While having made 146-of-324 field goal attempts this season, he is shooting 45.1 percent from the field which is ninth-best in the conference. Additionally, with 54 made 3-pointers, he is one of three BHSU sharpshooters to have made 50 or more shots from distance this season while shooting 38.0 percent or better as he is knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a 38.6 percent clip. Averaging 1.93 3-pointers per game, on 11 occasions he has knocked down three or more shots from distance, including a season-best performance of 5-of-6 shooting from deep against USF. He currently ranks tenth in the RMAC in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage. He has also secured four or more rebounds ten times and dished out three or more assists eight times.

The facilitator and defensive leader for the Green & Gold is Jaeton Hackley, who leads the team in assists (3.8) and steals (1.3) while adding 11.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore has scored in double figures 19 times this season, which includes a pair of 20-point outings. He scored a career-high of 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 from the free throw line against No. 8/10 Colorado School of Mines last month. Among his eight games this season with four or more rebounds, he secured a career-high of seven boards in the first match-up against South Dakota Mines. His active defense has resulted in 13 multi-steal games, including a career-high of four steals in the victory over Chadron State in December, while he also shattered a career-high with ten assists in the same contest. His first career double-double with 13 points and ten assists against CSC marked the first time since February 10, 2023, that a Yellow Jacket tallied double digit assists when Adam Moussa notched a triple-double against UCCS. He is now up to 15 games of four or more assists this season after doing so in now ten of the last 12 games as he averages 5.3 in the last 12 games. He currently ranks fourth in the RMAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.85) and total assists (109) and is sixth in assists per game. His 38 total steals on the season currently ranks eighth in BHSU program history and his 64 career steals is tied for ninth in school history.

Hurdle has emerged as one of the top sharpshooters in the nation as he leads both the RMAC and NCAA Division II with a 3-point percentage of 48.9 on 69-of-141 shooting from beyond the arc on the year. Additionally, in the 19 league games alone he shot the ball at a 53.1 percent clip from deep as he has connected on 60-of-113 shot attempts. He ranks second in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.76) and total 3-pointers (69). He's connected on multiple 3-pointers in 20 games this year, including 18 of the last 20 games. Last month he hit five shots from beyond the arc in back-to-back wins over CSU Pueblo and UCCS as he reached five or more 3-pointers for the fifth time this year. On the season he is averaging 10.4 points and 2.0 rebounds. Hurdle has scored in double figures 12 times and has twice reached the 20-point mark. His 27-point performance against Regis set a new career-high in points and made 3-pointers with 8-of-12 shooting from deep. On the glass he has secured a season-high of seven boards against the ThunderWolves.