Former Ankeny kicker Max Pelham is joining the two-time defending national champions.
After two years as the starting punter at Minnesota State-Mankato, Pelham has decided to transfer to South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits defeated Montana, 23-3, on Jan. 7 to earn their second consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national title.
“I actually got recruited a little out of high school at SDSU and loved everything about the school,” Pelham said. “They have great engineering programs, and the team culture there seems to be much healthier than what I was used to at Mankato.”
Pelham helped Ankeny to a state title in 2020 and a runner-up finish in 2021. He earned first-team all-state honors as a kicker and punter.
As a freshman at Minnesota State in 2022, Pelham averaged 41.7 yards on 53 punt attempts. Nineteen of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line.
In 2023, Pelham averaged 38.2 yards on 31 attempts. He helped the Mavericks to a 19-6 record over the last two seasons, but was looking for a fresh start.
“Mankato just wasn’t the best fit for me,” he said. “I tried it out for a couple semesters and came to the conclusion that I needed to look for another opportunity somewhere else.”