ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Indiana State football's Braxton Sampson and Alex Rose were both named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team as announced by the conference office on Friday.
 
Sampson receives Honorable Mention honors for the second time over his collegiate career, while Rose earns the recognition for the first time in 2025.
 
Sampson posted a 3.87 GPA while pursuing his degree in construction management. The Brazil, Ind. native moved from the defensive line into a starting linebacker role prior to the start of the 2025 season.
 
Sampson finished third overall on the team with 73 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss and a sack, while adding two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. The redshirt junior recorded a career-high 16 tackles and a tackle for loss against North Dakota State this season, while adding an eight-tackle, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack and a forced fumble game against Eastern Illinois.
 
Rose posted a 3.89 GPA while pursuing his degree in construction management. The Terre Haute, Ind. native took over a starting linebacker role over the 2025 season starting seven of the last 10 games on the rield.
 
The redshirt sophomore finished fourth on the team with 66 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss, while adding a sack and a forced fumble. Rose highlighted his season with a career-high 16 tackle game in the season finale against Murray State, following up a seven-tackle, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack contest at Youngstown State.
 
Defensive lineman Kobe Claybourne of South Dakota State highlights a list of 38 student-athletes named today to the 2025 all-Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. Claybourne was voted MVFC Scholar-Athlete of the Year by league sports information directors. He carries a 4.0 grade point averaging while pursuing his master's degree in finance. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics (also a 4.0 GPA).
 
Nominees must be starters or important reserves; must have participated in at least 66 percent of his team's games and carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better both as an undergrad AND in graduate school.
 
Additionally, nominees must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his institution.  Transfer student-athletes are immediately eligible. If a transfer student-athlete (undergraduates or graduates) was in his first semester at an institution, his cumulative undergraduate GPA and cumulative graduate GPA (if grad GPA is applicable) from his former institution was utilized. League sports information directors voted on the team.

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