Two Seniors Named KMBC-TV Hy-Vee Scholar Athletes of the Year
KMBC-9 has selected seniors Rohan Thomas and Eshan Patel as KCMB-TV and HyVee Scholar Athletes for 2026. Each year, KMBC-9 recognizes ten high school seniors from the Kansas City area who have demonstrated academic and athletic excellence and who are actively involved in school and civic activities throughout their high school career.
To be eligible for this recognition, students must be current seniors graduating in the spring of 2026. They must have a minimum GPA of 3.0, plan to attend college in the fall of 2026 and have played at least one year of any varsity sport.
Eshan Patel has played varsity soccer since his freshman year. He played junior varsity tennis as a freshman, and has been on the varsity tennis team during his junior and senior years. He has been a member of the Sporting KC Blue Valley Soccer Club during all four years of upper school.
Eshan is a member of the FIRST Robotics team, serving as mechanical lead as a junior, mechanical captain as a senior and drive coach for both of those years. He has been involved with the Cyperpatriots coding club since his sophomore year. He was a member of the debate team during his freshman and sophomore years, reaching novice division finalist and semifinalist status in multiple tournaments. As a sophomore, he served as vice president of his class in Student Government. He served as vice president of Knowledge Bowl during his junior year, and president of Fantasy Sports Club every year since he was a sophomore.
Eshan has interned with St. Luke’s Health Systems where he assisted with research. He attended biomedical research camp at Brown University as a junior. He has volunteered as a soccer coach for students with special needs, is a certified referee with the Heartland Soccer League and has worked as a counselor for Summer at Barstow. He has performed at dance events and showcases for Indian Association of Kansas City and Seva Dance.
Rohan Thomas has played varsity soccer throughout all four years of his upper school career, serving as the team captain as a senior. He has earned recognitions including All-State, All-District, All-Conference Honorable Mention and All-Region Goalkeeper of the Year. In club soccer, Rohan is a ECNL player and USYS NL Florida Finals qualifier.
Rohan has been a member of the debate team since his freshman year, earning a number of honors and awards including the National Speech and Debate Association Degree of Honor as a freshman and Iowa City Cross River Classic Varsity Champion as a sophomore. He is currently club captain of Business Professionals of America, where he won Global Marketing Regionals First Place as a junior. He competes with the Cyberpatriots coding club and Knowledge Bowl, participated in Boys State as a senior and has volunteered with Summer at Barstow and Harvesters.
Each of the ten Scholar Athletes will receive a plaque, a $1,000 scholarship and a televised interview on KMBC-9. These interviews will be aired on Fridays throughout March, April and May during the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. Stay tuned for Eshan and Rohan’s interview air dates!
