Emily Bloss Carpenter Born: Wellsville, Kansas
Graduated: Wellsville High School, 1997 / Emporia State University, 2001.

One thing that certainly makes this year’s inductee class special is the selection of two highly
decorated athletes from the state of Kansas that just so happened to be teammates at Emporia State,
one of the two being Emily Bloss Carpenter.

The Wellsville-native was an All-state basketball selection while in high school, so it’s no secret that
she was already well on her way to becoming one of the best that ever stepped foot on the court in the
state, but her time at Emporia State helped cement this into history.

Growing up in a town with less than 2,000 people before moving to college is one of the biggest
adjustments an eighteen-year-old can make, but Carpenter didn’t even seem to flinch before she hit the
ground running to start off her Hornet career. Carpenter was a starter as a freshman, on her way to earning four letters with the program. She was a three-time All-MIAA Conference selection, and an All-American selection in 2001.

Alongside fellow inductee Tara Holloway Churchill for three of these, Carpenter helped lead the
Hornets to four consecutive MIAA titles and four consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments.
Carpenter was named NCAA Division II Player of the Year and MIAA MVP in 2001 to close out her
collegiate career.

At the time, Carpenter ended her Hornet career as the school’s all-time leader in points with 1,915,
and fourth in rebounds in the program’s history at 823.

Carpenter’s success didn’t just happen on the court though. She did it in the classroom as well.
Carpenter was a three-time Academic All-American selection, and she even earned All-American honors as a member of Emporia State’s track & field team as a member of the 1600m relay team. With a college career like that, it comes as no surprise that she has been previously elected to the Emporia State Hall of Fame and to the MIAA Hall of Fame.

When you dedicate your whole life to sports, what happens after you take off the jersey for the last time? For Carpenter, the answer to this has become politics. Carpenter now resides in Lenexa with her husband Derrick and their four children, where she is currently running for Kansas state representative for District 17.
Please welcome Emily Bloss Carpenter to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Biography by: Madelynn Hartley
Photos Courtesy of Emporia State Athletics.