McKenzie's Cunningham Excelling as Freshman at Kentucky Wesleyan

OWENSBORO, Ky. (October 20) — McKenzie High School football standout and 2025 graduate KD Cunningham is making noise at the next level, seeing heavy playing time as a freshman at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Cunningham, the son of Raven Cunningham-Tharpe and Darrius Tharpe, has played in all seven of the Panthers' games this season, racking up 26 total tackles, including seven solo tackles and 19 assists. He has three tackles for a loss, including an assist on a sack, and one quarterback hit. On September 13, he recorded a safety against William Jewell College.

The former Rebel's freshman performance has been a bright spot for Kentucky Wesleyan, who are winless with four games remaining in the season. The Panthers compete in the NCAA Division II’s Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

Cunningham is a fitness and sports management major.

As a senior at McKenzie, he was named First Team All-State, the Class 1A Defensive Line Player of the Year and the Region 6-1A Defensive Player of the Year.