KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State's Emily Diercks McCullough (women's cross country/track and field) and Cooper Scheck (men's golf) were selected as finalists for the annual MIAA Ken B. Jones Award, announced Monday (May 18) by the conference office. The annual award recognizes the conference's male and female student-athletes of the year, combining athletic performance for the year, career academic accolades, and campus/community service for the year.
 
McCullough and Scheck are one of five finalists for each gender in 2026. McCullough joins Rylee Lemos of Central Oklahoma (softball), Peyton Neff of Nebraska-Kearney (volleyball), Isabelle Peters of Pittsburg State (track & field) and Mia Rallo of Central Missouri (golf) as female finalists. Scheck joins Landon Boss of Emporia State (football), Crew Howard of Nebraska-Kearney (wrestling), Gabe Johnson of Central Oklahoma (wrestling), and Dylan Sprecker of Pittsburg State (cross country/track and field) as male finalists.
 
The finalists will be recognized and the winners will be announced at the 2026 MIAA Awards Celebration, presented by Seigfreid Bingham, on Monday, June 1 at the Nelson Atkins Museum Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
 
Former Tiger women's basketball standout Katie DeGarmo (formerly Wagner) was the women's winner of the MIAA Ken B. Jones Award each of the last two years. Fort Hays State has had four winners of the Ken B. Jones Award overall and she was the first-ever repeat winner for FHSU. Kate Lehman (women's basketball, 2015) and Ryan Stanley (men's track and field, 2023) are Fort Hays State's two other winners of the award all-time.
 
Stanley received the MIAA Spring Student-Athlete of the Year honor and Whitney Randall (women's basketball) received the MIAA Winter Student-Athlete of the Year honor in 2021 when there was no all-sport inclusive Ken B. Jones Award. Specific seasons were recognized for fall/winter of 2019-20 and winter/spring of 2020-21 due to COVID-19 and did not have the Ken B. Jones name, though it was a temporary seasonal replacement of the award.
 
Fort Hays State has now had 22 Ken B. Jones Award/Student-Athlete of the Year finalists since joining the MIAA in 2006-07. FHSU has had at least one finalist for each of the last 14 awards (since 2014-15). FHSU has now had both female and male finalists three of the last four years (2023, 2025, and 2026).
 
Each institution may nominate only one female and one male student-athlete. The nominees must have completed at least their junior season of athletics eligibility by June 1 of the academic year of nomination. A nominee must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average through the previous full semester term through February 1 of the academic year of nomination at the certifying member institution.
 
A 15-member panel of athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors - including a representative from each member institution - select the finalists. Each nominee is judged in three areas, including 2025-26 athletic accomplishments, career academic accomplishments, and 2025-26 campus/community service.

Emily McCullough – Cross Country / Track and Field
Emily McCullough has enjoyed another tremendous year of success for the Tigers in cross country and track and field. She was the repeat MIAA champion in women's cross country, becoming the first multi-time conference champion in FHSU women's cross country history. She went on to win the NCAA Central Regional in Joplin, Missouri, becoming the first runner in FHSU program history to win an NCAA regional championship. She was undefeated against NCAA Division II competition in 2025 all the way up until the NCAA Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she placed 12^th individually for All-America honors. It was the highest national finish at the NCAA Championships in program history. Her season-long performance earned her USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country Region Athlete of the Year honors, while earning all-region honors from the organization for a second-straight year.
 
On the track this year, McCullough earned All-America honors during the indoor season in the 5,000 meters with a 12^th place finish at the NCAA Championships. During the outdoor season, she was the MIAA 10,000 meter champion and will compete at the NCAA Championships in that event later this week. She was an All-MIAA performer this year for both the indoor 5,000 meters and outdoor 10,000 meters. She was an all-region performer during the indoor season for both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, while breaking the school record in both events, which now gives her three school records (also owns the outdoor 10,000 meters).
 
Academically, McCullough was a CSC Academic All-America selection in cross country/track and field last year. She is a six-time MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award recipient and six-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll performer (includes cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field). She is also a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete.
 
Away from competition and the classroom, McCullough was the co-founder and host of the Little Cardinal Cross Country Camp in Plainville, Kan., teaching the fundamentals of distance running to youth, organizing practices and a meet, and promoting teamwork and sportsmanship among participants. She volunteered her time for the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament. She also served as a volunteer as a Plainville Recreation Distance Track Coach.
 
Cooper Scheck – Men's Golf
Cooper Scheck has put together a great senior season, becoming the first golfer in FHSU history to make the NCAA Championship site after qualifying as an individual at the NCAA Super Regional in Michigan. He placed third in the 116-golfer field to qualify for the championship site. He was an All-MIAA performer for the third-straight year and has earned PING All-Central Region honors in his time as a Tiger. Going into the NCAA Championships this week, Scheck holds a 71.79 stroke average for the season, which is best for a season in FHSU's NCAA Division II history. He had four top-5 finishes his season, which included winning the Hillcat Classic and tying for first at the Newman Invitational. He finished among the top 10 of tournaments six times and the top 12 nine times in 11 total events. Scheck posted 19 rounds at-or-under par, including eight rounds in the 60s and a season-best round of 66. His lowest round in relation to par for the season was 5-under par at the Hillcat Classic, which he won. He is the first FHSU golfer to earn All-MIAA three times. Scheck also owns the best career scoring average in the program's history with the MIAA at 72.44, while owning the three best single-season scoring averages in the program's MIAA history.
 
Scheck has also been elite in the classroom with a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA as a Health and Human Performance major at FHSU. He was named a CSC Academic All-America selection last year and was a GCAA All-America Scholar. He was the only MIAA men's athlete named to the CSC Academic All-America team for at-large sports (combines 10 men's sports). Earlier this year, Scheck was named the 2025-26 MIAA Men's Golf "A Game" Scholar-Athlete for the student with the highest GPA competing at the MIAA Championships. He was named the FHSU Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2025-26 at the Tiger R.O.A.R. Awards. Scheck is a three-time recipient of the MIAA Academic Excellence Award, Scholar-Athlete Award, and member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
 
Away from the course and classroom, Scheck volunteered approximately 70 hours for the FHSU Neuromuscular Wellness Center in the fall before serving as an intern in the spring. He also served as a volunteer for Serena's Sunflower 5K and Color Run, Tiger Field Day, Habitat for Humanity, a pair of youth golf camps, and Special Olympics. He also was a volunteer for the KAHPERD convention, where he served as a presenter of his own research on the anatomical positions of the golf swing and the best practices to prevent injuries.
 
Women's Finalists
Rylee Lemos – Central Oklahoma (softball)
Emily McCullough – Fort Hays State (cross country/track and field)
Peyton Neff – Nebraska-Kearney (volleyball)
Isabelle Peters – Pittsburg State (track & field)
Mia Rallo – Central Missouri (golf)
 
Men's Finalists
Landon Boss – Emporia State (football)
Crew Howard – Nebraska-Kearney (wrestling)
Gabe Johnson – Central Oklahoma (wrestling)
Cooper Scheck – Fort Hays State (golf)
Dylan Sprecker – Pittsburg State (cross country/track and field)