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24 notable alumni

Notable Alumni of Murray State University

Notable alumni of Murray State University include Jim Varney (American actor and comedian), Ja Morant (NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers) and W. Earl Brown (Actor known for Scream and Deadwood).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

  • Larry J. Hopkins 1933–2021

    Republican US Representative from Kentucky

    Child: Josh Hopkins (Auburn University)

  • William T. Redmond 1955–

    Republican US representative from New Mexico and minister

    Also attended: Lincoln Christian University

  • Fats Everett 1915–1969

    US congressman from Tennessee

Science and academia

  • Vicki Ann Funk 1947–2019

    Botanist at Smithsonian's Natural History Museum

    Bachelor's degree, Master's degree

    Also attended: Ohio State University-Main Campus

  • J. Paul Hogan 1919–2012

    Chemist who co-discovered polypropylene production methods

Arts and media

  • Jim Varney 1949–2000

    American actor and comedian

  • W. Earl Brown 1963–

    Actor known for Scream and Deadwood

    Also attended: DePaul University

  • Chrishell Stause 1981–

    Actress, television personality and real estate agent

    Spouse: Justin Hartley (University of Illinois at Chicago, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale)

  • Chris Thile 1981–

    Mandolinist, Punch Brothers member and MacArthur Fellow

    Spouse: Claire Coffee (Northwestern University)

  • Jeff Easley 1954–

    Fantasy artist and illustrator for role-playing games

  • Joe Staton 1948–

    Comics artist, co-creator of Huntress at DC Comics

  • Alex Harvey 1941–2020

    Country singer, songwriter, author and radio host

  • Taghreed El-Khodary

    Palestinian journalist

Sports

  • Ja Morant 1999–

    NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers

  • Isaiah Canaan 1991–

    Professional basketball player

  • Cameron Payne 1994–

    Basketball player, 14th pick in 2015 NBA draft

  • Marcus Brown 1974–

    Former professional basketball shooting guard

  • Joe Fulks 1921–1976

    NBA's first scoring champion

  • Heather Samuel 1970–

    Sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda

  • Pat Spurgin 1965–

    Olympic shooting gold medalist, former University of Alaska president

  • Wesley Korir 1982–

    Kenyan runner, 2012 Boston Marathon winner and legislator

    Also attended: University of Louisville

  • Popeye Jones 1970–

    Former NBA player, Orlando Magic assistant coach

  • Leva Bates 1983–

    Professional wrestler known for All Elite Wrestling

Other fields

  • Jesse Santana 1986–

    Pornographic film actor

From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.