KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The accolades continue to roll in for the University of Pikeville football team as two players can add All-American to their resumes.
 
Jordan Scott was chosen as a first-team offensive lineman, while Lee Kirkland was named second-team quarterback.
 
The 2024 AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Teams were announced Wednesday by the American Football Coaches Association. 
 
"We couldn't be happier for Jordan and Lee," said Coach Corey Fipps, who is also the director of athletics at the school. "These are two young men with amazing stories who decided to come back for one final season, and it has paid off.
 
"It worked out well for the team, winning a conference championship and making the playoffs for only the second time and earning their first postseason win, and now it has paid off for them individually with these honors. Their hard work and dedication to the program will never be forgotten."
 
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
 
Scott is a 6-2, 306-pound graduate student who started at right guard for the Bears. Behind his leadership, the Bears ran for 1,947 yards and scored 30 rushing touchdowns on the season.
 
Also, UPike threw 564 times this season, and the offensive line allowed only six sacks in 12 games.
 
Kirkland is a 6-6, 265-pound graduate student who was 368-for-556 on the season, a completion percentage of 66.19. He threw for 3,962 yards and 40 touchdowns. All of those are single-season school records.
 
He also holds the mark for passes, completions, passing yards and touchdowns in a game and a career at the school.
 
Kirkland also ran for 294 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on the season.
 
The Bears won the automatic bid for the Appalachian Athletics Conference into the NAIA playoffs. In the opening round, they won 42-35 at Baker (Kan.), the school's first-ever playoff victory.
 
They then faced by No. 1 Keiser (Fla.), which is now in the national semifinals as it attempts to repeat as national champions.