List of Missouri State University alumni explained

This is a list of notable alumni of Missouri State University. Most of these students attended under the former names of the school: Fourth District Normal School (1905–1919), Southwest Missouri State Teacher's College (1919–1972), and Southwest Missouri State University (1972–2005).

Athletes

Blake Ahearn, current NBA G-League head coach, former NBA D-League player, played in 15 NBA Games
David Arkin, former NFL player
Scott Bailes, former MLB player
Mark Bailey, former MLB player
Buddy Baumann, former MLB player
Jake Burger, current MLB player
Scott Carroll, former MLB player
Dylan Cole, current NFL player
Zak Cummings, professional mixed martial artist for the Ultimate Fighting Championship^[1]
Ross Detwiler, current MLB player
Winston Garland, former NBA player
Matt Hall, current MLB player
Clay Harbor, current NFL player and The Bachelorette contestant
Jason Hart, former MLB player
Kyle Hiebert, current MLS player
Ryan Howard, former MLB player
Alize Johnson, current NBA player
Pierce Johnson, current MLB player
Mike Kickham, former MLB player
Jerry Lumpe, former MLB player
Shaun Marcum, former MLB player
Bill Mueller, former MLB player
Matt Palmer, former MLB player
Lance Parker, former MLS player
Curtis Perry, former NBA player
Matt Pickens, current MLS player
John Rheinecker, former MLB player
Norm Siebern, former MLB player
Brett Sinkbeil, former MLB player
Horton Smith, first Masters Tournament winner
Brad St. Louis, former NFL player
Jackie Stiles, former WNBA player, NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer
Jamal Sutton, former MLS player
Luke Voit, current MLB player
Jason Whittle, former NFL player
Brad Ziegler, former MLB player

Business people

David Glass, former Wal-Mart CEO, former Kansas City Royals owner

Entertainers

Jim Bohannon, radio talk show host, Westwood One
Kevin Brockmeier, author
Don S. Davis, actor
John Goodman, actor
Tess Harper, actor
Kendra Kassebaum, Broadway actor, singer
Lori Lewis, soprano, lead vocalist of symphonic metal band Therion
Kyle Dean Massey, actor
Crystal Methyd, drag queen and runner-up of RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)
Daya Betty, drag queen and finalist of RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14)
Kathleen Turner, actor (transferred to University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

Art and media

Julie Blackmon, photographer
Bessie Breuer, journalist, novelist, writer, and playwright
Theodore Melfi, director and screenwriter for Hidden Figures

Public officials

Roy Blunt, former Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives; former U.S. Senator
Eric Burlison, former Missouri senator; current U.S. Congressman from Missouri's 7th congressional district
Donald Dedmon, fourth president of Radford University and ninth (acting) president of Marshall University^[2]
Lacey Eastburn, tenth president of Northern Arizona University
M. Douglas Harpool, Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
Bob Holden, former governor of Missouri
Lincoln Hough, Republican member of the Missouri Senate
Margaret B. Kelly, former Missouri State Auditor
Walter L. Lovelace, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri^[3]
Austin Petersen, former 2016 presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination
Carrie Tergin, current Jefferson City mayor
Todd Tiahrt, former U.S. Congressman from Kansas's 4th congressional district and current Republican National Committeeman from Kansas

Military

Engineers

Geraldine Holm Hoch, engineer at Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman

Scientists

Kim Medley, environmental scientist at Washington University in St. Louis
Dorothy Martin Simon, physical chemist

Notes and References

Web site: Zak Cummings UFC Bio. 2014-01-01.
Web site: Donald Newton Dedmon - Ninth President (Acting), 1970-1971 . Marshall University . 2016-11-26.
Web site: Walter L. Lovelace. Missouri Courts. June 24, 2023.