Junior Jacob Meyer has maintained a 3.973 cumulative GPA and a 4.0 major and minor GPA while playing on the basketball team during his three years at Hillsdale, and is the 2024-2025 winner of the Great Midwest Elite 26 Award in men’s basketball. 

“Grades and studying hard and giving everything my best shot according to how I prioritize my life has always been just what I was taught to do,” Meyer said.

For the second consecutive year, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has awarded Meyer the Elite 26 Award, which is given to the athlete with the highest cumulative GPA in each of the 26 G-MAC sporting events.

Meyer said when he was a kid, school always came before sports, and he has maintained that discipline as a student-athlete while pursuing a financial management major and accounting minor.

“My parents would always say, ‘You’re not doing anything until your homework gets done,’ or, ‘if your grade starts slipping, you can’t play sports,’” Meyer said. “It’s always been my faith comes first, then family, then school, then sports.”

Prioritizing school requires some sacrifice, according to Meyer.

“I have a room really close to our living room, so our friends will always be watching basketball, just chatting it up and I have really missed those moments sometimes,” Meyer said.

Redshirt sophomore CJ Yarian, Meyer’s teammate and housemate, said he tries to draw Meyer away from his homework to watch games with them.

“Sometimes I feel bad because we always bug him in his room when he’s studying,” Yarian said. “And then sometimes we get him to come out but he goes on his laptop out in the living room watching the basketball game with us. He misses out on a little bit, but not too much.”

Although Meyer redshirted freshman year so he would have the option to play basketball as a fifth year senior, he plans to graduate in four years. His four-year graduation plan requires him to take an average of 15.5 credits per semester in addition to his basketball commitments rather than the lighter course loads of many athletes. Despite his busy schedule, Meyer makes time for his friends.

“He’s always there to help you,” Yarian said. “If you miss a class he always has notes for you and he’ll give them to you. Or if you ever need anything he’ll go out of his way to do that.”

Meyer said fifth-year senior Charles Woodham has inspired him in his academic pursuits. 

“I found out toward the end of my freshman year that Charles actually had the highest GPA on the team,” Meyer said. “I knew he was a pre-med student, and I didn’t really know what all that entailed and how difficult that really was, but I knew getting a GPA like he had his junior year was really a testament to what he valued and the hard work he had put into school. So I thought, ‘I want to be able to be in the same kind of position he is with such a strong GPA.’”

Meyer said he has formed his closest friendships with basketball teammates, which he attributes to the hours spent in early morning workouts, road trips, practices, and games. Even in times when he’s off the court, he works to improve the team.

“It was weird coming into college and not really playing heavy minutes or not getting to play all that much,” Meyer said. “I just thought it’d be a good opportunity to be the locker room guy or just be the best teammate that I could because that’s probably mostly where I have a chance to make an impact.”

His efforts have improved the team, according to head coach Keven Bradley.
“He has been such a pleasure to coach and just be around,” Bradley said. “He comes in with such a great attitude and approach to practice every single day, and his demeanor is just naturally very uplifting. He’s a great friend in the locker room and he is just loved by the 13 other guys.”

Meyer said he is only fulfilling his duty by reaching out to his teammates. 
“I kind of just try to treat people the way they deserve to be treated,” Meyer said. “It’s never fun when anyone’s excluded or when someone feels left out, so I just try to get everyone involved.”

The basketball team won’t be the same without Meyer, according to Bradley.

“It’ll be a tough day saying goodbye to him next year, just because of his impact and what he’s done for the program and the locker room,” Bradley said.