Following a tremendous high school career at Bushland, Kash Bradley has only skyrocketed his success making the transition to the college ranks look easy over the past three years becoming a top player for the Colorado Mesa Mavericks at the Division II level.
On and off the field, Bradley, who will enter his senior year on the field this fall for Mesa, has taken strides in a starting role on the defensive side of the ball and on the special teams’ unit.
Former West Texas A&M defensive coordinator and Mavericks head coach Miles Kochever had a big hand in recruiting Bradley to Mesa and has never regretted that decision.
“Kash is a huge part of our program and has been since he’s stepped foot on campus,” said Kochevar, who begins his fourth season as the Mavericks head coach. “He’s the type of guy that puts his head down and goes to work whether it’s on the field or in the classroom. Kash is the exact kind of guy you build a program around and he has helped set the culture we’ve wanted to establish.”
The rest of this story is only for subscribers.
On the field, Kash has lived up to his name as a money player in the secondary and as a kick returner. The soon-to-be four-year starter had arguably his best season a year ago being named All-Rocky Mountain Conference First Team Kick Returner and Punt Returner and honorable mention defensive back. Bradley started all 11 games finishing the year with 37 tackles, nine pass deflections with an interception. He also averaged 23.6 yards per kick return and 11.6 yards per punt.
Those accolades garnered Bradley the coveted Blair Cherry Award for the top Amarillo-area collegiate athlete last January and earned him a trip to Denver, Colo., last week to take part in R-MAC media day to represent Colorado Mesa.
“It meant a lot to win the Blair Cherry last year,” Bradley said. “The names on that list are incredible. It also meant a lot to attend media day and represent my school. I got to meet a lot of players, and it was a great experience. I think we have a great chance to win the R-MAC and it was an honor to promote the team.”
Though he’s been a four-year starter and had a breakout junior season making it look smooth, there has still been a lot of growing pains for Bradley. Every year, the grind never stops, and he knows he has to put in the work. He’s also learning what it takes to be a great leader.
“College football is demanding,” Bradley said. “I remember being a nervous freshman, but I know no matter how much older I get I have to continue to work hard and get better. Nothing is every guaranteed. My goal now on top of being on the field is to be a great leader. I want to be a more vocal leader instead of just of someone who leads by example.”
Kochevar echoed Bradley’s comment.
“I’m proud of how Kash is growing as a leader,” Kochevar said. “He cracked the lineup as a freshman and that moment wasn’t too big for him. He always led by example by showing up but now he is doing by holding guys accountable and being more vocal. He isn’t the loudest but he’s working on that. Kash carries weight and the guys rely on him.”
Off the field, Bradley is equally successful. Bradley takes academics as serious as he does football. Bradley has earned First Team Academic honors throughout his career carrying a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. Recently, Bradley was even named to the Cambell Trophy watch list. The William V. Campbell Trophy is also known as the Academic Heisman awarded annually to the college football player who best combines academics, leadership, and football performance.
“Academics have always been very important to me,” said Bradley, who is a Sports and Exercise Science major. “I have always felt it’s just as important to work as hard in the classroom as you do on the field. If you want to be great at something, then be great all the time.”
Bradley even takes time to stay in tune with his alma mater. This past summer, Bradley was back in Bushland helping head coach Josh Reynolds during a summer football camp.
“It’s amazing to see what Kash is doing,” Reynolds said. “He does things the right way on and off the field and that’s how he did things here for our program. He has gotten more vocal now and we saw that when he helped coach the summer camp with us. It’s not easy to play four years of college football. It’s not easy these days to play college football at the same school. He’s going to get his degree; and he played at a high level. I can’t say enough of how proud we all are.”