CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State football will end the 2025 season as a consensus nationally-ranked program as the Eagles appeared in the final polls of both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D2Football.com. Chadron State earned a No. 23 ranking in the final AFCA poll and a No. 18 ranking in the final D2Football.com poll. 

In both cases, the Eagles dropped one spot from their rankings of No. 22 and No. 17, respectively, prior to CSC's first-round NCAA playoff matchup against Pittsburg State. Those were CSC's highest rankings of the season in each poll. 

When Chadron State cracked the AFCA rankings earlier this season, it was the Eagles' first appearance in the national polls since 2013. Now, Chadron State has secured a spot in the year-end AFCA poll for the first time since 2012.

Chadron State finished with an 8-4 record (8-3 regular season), a five-win improvement from a season ago. The Eagles were picked to finish tied for seventh out of 10 teams in the RMAC's Preseason Coaches Poll, but were in contention for the league title until the final week of the regular season, eventually finishing second. 

Chadron State closed the season with a stretch of three consecutive games against teams ranked in the Top 10 (Western Colorado, CSU Pueblo and Pittsburg State). In that stretch, the Eagles went 1-2 with each contest decided by one score and two going to overtime or double overtime. 

The Eagles are one of three RMAC teams to appear in both polls. CSU Pueblo finished No. 11 in the AFCA and No. 15 in D2Football.com while Western Colorado finished No. 12 in the AFCA and No. 11 in D2Football.com. Pittsburg State, CSC's NCAA playoff opponent, finished No. 6 in both polls.

Thomas Picks Up All-America Honors; Eisenbraun, O'Brien Add More

CHADRON, Neb. – Wide receiver Tommy Thomas picked up the first two All-America honors of his career, Brodie Eisenbraun and Logan O'Brien added additional first-team accolades and kicker Wilson Yee also earned a mention as the Don Hansen Football Committee and Associated Press (AP) released their All-America teams. 

On the Don Hansen All-America team, O'Brien earned a First Team selection at linebacker while Thomas was on the second team and Eisenbraun and Yee were honorable mention. 

The AP Division II All-America team featured Eisenbraun as the first team punter and also had Thomas on the second team. 

The AP selection makes it three First Team All-America selections this season for Eisenbraun, who previously garnered the honor from the Associated Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA).

STORY: Eisenbraun Named Consensus All-American, O'Brien AFCA Second Team

Eisenbraun, who set a new Chadron State single-season record with 44.2 yards per punt (3rd in Division II) was also named D2CCA First Team All-Region and the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year. 

O'Brien becomes the second Chadron State player this season to become a First Team All-American after his RMAC Defensive Player of the Year-winning season in which the redshirt senior accumulated 85 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. 

After not appearing on the AFCA or D2CCA teams, redshirt senior Tommy Thomas gets his All-America flowers with his pair of second-team selections from Don Hansen and the AP. Thomas ranked third in Division II with 15 receiving touchdowns and was 12th with 949 receiving yards. 

Thomas earned his second First Team All-RMAC selection in 2025 and capped a terrific career in which the Fort Collins native become Chadron State's program leader in career receptions (195) and career receiving touchdowns (31). In his final collegiate game, Thomas made a one-handed touchdown catch in the NCAA playoffs against Pittsburg State.

Wilson Yee, who previously was named the First Team All-RMAC kicker and a semifinalist for the Fred Mitchell award, earns an honorable mention All-America selection from the Don Hansen committee.

Yee kicked seven field goals of 40-plus yards, including a walk-off 47-yard field goal to beat then-top 10 Western Colorado in overtime, and was 36 of 37 on PATs. Yee also averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff attempt, contributing to a strong CSC coverage unit that only allowed 18.6 kick return yards per game.