KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- University of Central Missouri Jennies Golf's Mia Rallo was named one of five finalists for the prestigious 2025-26 MIAA Ken B. Jones Athlete of the Year Award, presented by Summit Pointe Financial Group, it was announced by the conference office on Monday, May 18. 

The Ken B. Jones Award recognizes the league's top female and male student-athletes from the academic year. Named after former MIAA Commissioner Ken B. Jones, this will be the 33rd year of the award.

Rallo, a senior from Wentzville, Mo., earned her third straight MIAA Women's Golfer of the Year and First Team All-MIAA honor in 2025-26 after averaging a team-best stroke average of 70.58 in 12 rounds and placing in the top five in four of her five tournaments this season. She won the Grace Shin Invitational Oct. 6-7 in Edmond, Oklahoma, and finished runner-up in the Central Region Fall Preview on Sept. 2-3 in Blue Springs, Mo., and the Midwest Classic Oct. 13-14 in Warrensburg. Rallo is the first three-time MIAA Women's Golfer of the Year.

She was sidelined during the spring 2026 season due to injury.

A two-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American, Rallo holds numerous Central Missouri women's golf all-time records, including most tournament wins (5), best career scoring average (73.94 in 87 career rounds), and the single-season scoring records for 2024, 2025, and 2026. She helped Jennies Golf win three MIAA championships, one Central Regional Title (2024-25), and finish as National Runner-Up (2024-25).

In addition, Rallo was the first golfer in UCM history to qualify for the prestigious U.S. Women's Amateur in the summer of 2025.

Rallo has also excelled in the classroom. She was named a College Sports Communicators Second Team Academic All-American in 2024-25, becoming the program's third Academic All-American, and has garnered WGCA All-American Scholar, CSC Academic All-District, MIAA Scholar-Athlete, and MIAA Academic Honor Roll accolades multiple times during her UCM career. She graduated this May with a bachelor's degree in health studies.

The Wentzville native has assisted with campus move-in day for the last two years. In addition, she has been part of a free golf clinic that Jennies Golf has hosted for young women each of the last two years. Rallo has also volunteered at multiple tournaments hosted at Mules National Golf Club for the last two years, providing on-course hole volunteering.

Each MIAA institution may nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the annual Ken B. Jones Award. The nominees must be completing at least their junior season of athletics eligibility by June 1 of the academic year and must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.25 through the previous full semester at the certifying member institution. The Ken B. Jones selection committee ranks their top five male and female selections using the following weighted system: 50 percent for the year's athletics accomplishments, 30 percent for the student's career academic accomplishments, and 20 percent for the year's campus/community service.

All ten finalists will be recognized at the 2026 MIAA Awards Celebration, hosted Monday, June 1, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The 2025-26 male and female Ken B. Jones Award winners will also be announced on stage at the Awards Celebration.

The finalists for the Ken B. Jones Award will be in attendance and participate in one-on-one interviews on stage with former Ken B. Jones winner and current Mules Football head coach, Josh Lamberson. Lamberson was named the Association's male Ken B. Jones award winner in 2005-06, after being named an All-American quarterback for the Bearcats, helping Northwest Missouri to the 2005 NCAA Division II national championship game.

The MIAA Awards Celebration is open to the public. Individuals interested in attending the event on June 1 can RSVP here. The conference office will be accepting RSVPs until Wednesday, May 27.

2025-26 FEMALE FINALISTS:
Rylee Lemos – Central Oklahoma Softball
Emily (Diercks) McCullough – Fort Hays State Cross Country/Track & Field
Peyton Neff – Nebraska Kearney Volleyball
Isabelle Peters – Pittsburg State Track & Field
Mia Rallo – Central Missouri Golf

2025-26 MALE 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 & Field