Notable Alumni

1 NATIONAL TITLE • 12 JAYHAWK CHAMPIONSHIPS • 25 BOWL APPEARANCES

DAYTON MOORE BRENT VENABLES KEITH SMART GENE KEADY

SPORTS FIGURES

Dayton Moore (‘87) General Manager for the Kansas City Royals. He began his career in 1994 as a professional scout for the Atlanta Braves. Before that, he was a star baseball player for the Broncbusters in the mid 80’s; then graduated from George Mason University.

Brent Venables (‘90) Defensive Coordinator at the University of Clemson. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He was an All-American at Garden City, recording 276 career tackles. Venables transferred to Kansas State where he earned all Big-Eight honors in 1992.

Keith Smart (‘86) Assistant coach with the New York Knicks. He was also the Head Coach for the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. At Garden City, Smart was the Jayhawk Player of the Year. He transferred to Indiana, where he’s remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 National Championship Game vs. Syracuse.

Gene Keady (‘56) After playing for two years for the Broncbusters, Keady began his coaching career at Beloit High School in 1959. From there, he spent nearly a decade at Hutchinson before landing his first Division I job as an assistant at Arkansas in 1975. But his big break came in 1980 when he began a 20-year stint as Purdue’s Head Coach. He was named Big Ten Coach of the year seven times. Keady was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2001.

Darvis Patton (‘88) is a two-time U.S. Champion in the 200-meter dash. He won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. He is a threetime Olympian. After graduating from Garden City in 1988, Patton earned a scholarship to TCU. Mark Fox (‘89) was born in Garden City in January of 1969. He graduated from Garden City High School, and then played two years at Garden City Community College. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Washington in 1991. Three years later, he joined the Kansas State staff. But it wasn’t until 2004 that he got his major break, landing the Head Coaching job at Nevada. There, he won 123 games over seven seasons, leading the Wolf Pack to five postseason appearances. In 2019, Fox was hired as the new Head Coach at California University.

Darrin Hancock (‘92) At Garden City, he was considered one of the top Junior College recruits in the nation. He was a Parade Magazine AllAmerican and the 1991-1992 NJCAA Player of the Year. He transferred to the University of Kansas in 1992, and in 1993, played in the NCAA Final Four. He was taken in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He played for four different NBA teams (Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs).

Tyreek Hill (‘13) Hill was a two-sport athlete at Garden City, running track and playing football. After two seasons, he transferred to Oklahoma State, becoming one of the most electrifying return men in college football. But in 2014, he was dismissed from the program for off-the-field issues. In 2015, he landed at West Alabama, and after just one season there, declared for the NFL Draft. While many expected him to go undrafted, the Kansas City Chiefs surprised many, selecting him in the fifth round in 2016.

DARVIS PATTON MARK FOX DARRIN HANCOCK TYREEK HILL