KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A pair of former All-America Pittsburg State University student-athletes have been selected among a wide-ranging group to comprise the MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2025 announced Thursday (Mar. 27).
The induction class includes former Pitt State football All-American John Brown (2011-13) and former Pitt State track & field All-American Kiara Jones (2008-12).
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The Pitt State honorees were joined by the University of Central Missouri's Kathy Anderson (administrator, 2005-23) and Mark Burrell (wrestling, 1988-90), Fort Hays State University's Kate (Lehman) Bremerman (women's basketball, 2011-15) and Darci (Schmitz) Riordan (track & field, 2009-11), Missouri Southern State University's Allen Barbre (football, 2003-06), Nikki (Llewellyn) Nill (women's soccer, 2005-08) and Shally Lundien (softball, 1994-95, legacy candidate), Northeastern State University's Ryan Helsley (baseball, 2014-15) and Washburn University's Dane Simoneau (baseball/football, 2007-11).
The Hall of Fame induction will occur during the MIAA Awards Celebration on Monday, June 2, at the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Mo.
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Pitt State Hall of Fame Member Biographies
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John Brown
Football Student-Athlete (2011-13)
John Brown finished his illustrious three-year career at Pittsburg State University as a three-time NCAA Division II All-America wide receiver and return specialist for the Gorillas. Brown was a consensus All-America pick his final two seasons; and he was twice tabbed the MIAA and the NCAA-II Special Teams Player of the Year (2012-13). Brown set PSU career records with 185 receptions for 3,387 yards and 34 touchdowns. He caught 61 passes for 1,216 yards and 12 TDs while helping the Gorillas to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship. Brown also averaged 26.9 yards on kickoff returns and 13.6 yards on punt returns. He compiled 6,244 all-purpose yards and scored 278 career points for the Gorillas. He was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft (with pick 91) by the Arizona Cardinals. During his nine-year NFL career, Brown caught 321 passes for 4,790 yards and 32 touchdowns while playing for the Cardinals (2014-17), Baltimore Ravens (2018), Buffalo Bills (2019-20, '22), Las Vegas Raiders (2021), Denver Broncos (2021), Jacksonville Jaguars (2021) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021). Brown was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
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Kiara Jones
Track & Field Student-Athlete (2008-2012)
Kiara Jones finished his outstanding career as an eight-time NCAA Division II All-America in the horizontal jumps. Jones also earned All-MIAA honors on 10 occasions, including a pair of MIAA titles in the triple jump and three MIAA runner-up finishes in the horizontal jumps. Jones claimed the first of his eight All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump at outdoor nationals as a freshman in 2009. He garnered national runner-up honors in the indoor triple jump in 2010. Jones added three third-place national finishes in the discipline: in the indoor and outdoor triple jump in 2009 and the outdoor triple jump in 2012. He also set school records for the indoor triple jump (51-11.25) as well as the outdoor triple jump (52-2) in 2010. He was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.
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