List of Missouri State University alumni

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
• 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
• 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
• 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

• Frank J. Grass, United States Army General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau
• Jarrett Robertson, major general in the United States Army

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