ROLLA, Mo. – For the seventh time in the history of the Missouri S&T athletics program, a student-athlete from the university has earned the top academic award for a season in his or her sport as Nathan Swadley (Willard, MO/Willard) was named today as the Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Communicators.

Swadley, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, was selected to the top spot after concluding an athletic career at S&T that included winning four All-America awards, three Academic All-America awards that includes a first-team selection on the 2023 squad, six Great Lakes Valley Conference championships and two GLVC Field Athlete of the Year awards.  He was also named as the Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award winner following the 2021-22 athletic season and as co-Male Student-Athlete of the Year at Missouri S&T after the 2022-23 campaign.

In addition, Swadley is also a two-time recipient of the GLVC's Scholar-Athlete award in men's track & field; the 2022-23 winners will be announced on Friday.

Swadley, who is among four Miners named to the Academic All-America team (see related story), garnered All-America honors in the shot put on four occasions during his five seasons at S&T – he used the fifth season granted to student-athletes after the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  His best finish came last month when he placed fifth in the event at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships after recording a sixth place finish in the indoor season on the national level.

In the 2021-22 season, Swadley had a sixth place showing at the national meet during the indoor season to earn his first All-America award, then followed it up with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships just over two months later.

Included in his six GLVC championships was a sweep of the shot put titles during the 2023 season.  He won two indoor and two outdoor titles in the shot put, as well as championships in the hammer and discus throws in 2021 as he became just the second individual to sweep the hammer, shot and discus at the same conference meet and earn his first GLVC Field Athlete of the Year award.  Swadley earned his second GLVC field honor following the 2023 indoor championships.
 
Swadley completed his S&T career as the school record holder in the indoor and outdoor shot put as well as in the discus throw; he is the only competitor in program history to go past the 18-meter mark in the shot and the 52-meter mark in the discus. 

His career accomplishments also extend to the classroom, where he earned CSC Academic All-America honors in each of the last three years and was the recipient of the GLVC's Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award following the 2021-22 season.   He has been a GLVC All-Academic team selection in every season, as well as a three-time recipient of the Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award by the conference – given to those with a 4.0 grade point average for an entire academic year – and earned the GLVC Council of Presidents Academic Excellence Award in 2023.

Swadley is the first member of the S&T men's track & field program to earn Academic All-America of the Year honors and joins five others who have combined for the other six awards.  Swimmer Jack Pennuto was the first to earn the award following the 2004-05 season, then fellow swimmer Bill Gaul was named in back-to-back seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Jennifer Costello was the first women's student-athlete to land the honor as a representative of the women's volleyball team in 2012-13, then men's basketball standout Bryce Foster was selected in the 2013-14 season and Keith Sponsler was the most recent honoree when he was selected in the 2015-16 season while representing the swimming program.

In addition, Swadley is the sixth Missouri S&T student-athlete to be named to three Academic All-America teams throughout his career, joining Brian Gilmore (football, 1994-96), Brian Westre (men's basketball, 2002-04), Gaul (swimming, 2005-07), Sponsler (swimming, 2014-16) and Deshawn Jones (football, 2017-19).

The Academic All-America honor that came along with today's selections gives Missouri S&T a total of 120 awards in program history, the eighth-most all-time among NCAA Division II institutions.  Swadley is among six Miners to earn Academic All-America honors during the 2022-23 school year.