The Messenger’s All Kansas 2-Year, Online and Digital plaque in the newsroom.

(Photo by: Baptiste Raffin)

In its first year of eligibility, The Messenger won 18 awards at the 2026 Kansas Collegiate Media Awards last weekend in Wichita, including All Kansas For Online & Digital Media for a 2 year school.

The individual awards are for work produced in 2025, while All Kansas is for current work.

Here is the breakdown by category:

First Place

• Staff, Kansas Award, 2-Year, Online & Digital
• Isaac Palmer, Review Writing
• Miranda Sue Philpot, Feature Photography
• Sammie Magee, Breaking/General News Writing
• Vaughn Wheat, Profile Writing
• Noelle Johnson, Social Media Reporting
• Israel Montantes, Video

Second Place

• Baptiste Raffin, Breaking/General News Writing
• Cash Navarro, In-Depth News Writing
• Sammie Magee, Feature Writing
• Jasmine Mills, Feature Photography
• Noelle Johnson and Chastity Stemmons, Social Media Promotion
• Xan Dahl, Video

Third Place

• Mckenzie Hollinshed, Seth Lampton, Sammie Magee, Photo Story
• Seth Lampton, Profile Writing

Honorable Mention

• Aubrey May, Headline Writing
• Sammie Magee, Column Writing
• Mya Roberts, Breaking/General News Writing