Gov. Beshear: 36 Young Kentuckians Graduate From 3rd Annual Kentucky State Police Youth Academy
Providing the next generation with an inside look at careers in law enforcement
ALBANY, Ky. (July 2, 2026) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 36 young Kentuckians graduated from the third annual class of the Kentucky State Police Youth Academy. The weeklong program allowed the next generation of law enforcement to interact with state police troopers and officers while learning leadership skills, physical fitness requirements and law enforcement principles.
“Young people like those graduating today give me strong hope for our future,” Gov. Beshear said. “I’m proud of these Kentuckians for their interest in public service and opportunities like this from the Kentucky State Police help build trust in and connection with our law enforcement.”
Throughout the weeklong program, participants took part in a wide array of activities and instruction, including exploration of core values and ethics fundamental to law enforcement, team-building exercises to cultivate collaboration and camaraderie, hands-on demonstrations from the KSP Crime Lab to understand forensic techniques, and an introduction to criminal investigations and crime scene analysis.
“Our Youth Academy program is far more than a typical summer camp experience, as it challenges these teens to dig deep in order to grow into the best versions of themselves,” KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said. “Through this program, participants gain firsthand insight into the many career opportunities within law enforcement – from serving as a state trooper to working behind the scenes as a forensic biologist and many other professional roles dedicated to public safety.”
The Youth Academy program, launched in 2024, continues to grow in popularity while offering 16- and 17-year-old Kentuckians an opportunity to engage with troopers and gain firsthand insight into a career in public safety.
“When attending the KSP Youth Academy last year, I went thinking that I would not be tough enough to finish, but I kept that thought silent,” second-year participant Allison Hooley said. “I learned that year that even with asthma, I am capable of hard things. I finished strong. Over and over again, I told myself what my mentors told us all, “show grit”. I learned much more than I thought I would both last year and this year. I am thankful for this opportunity, as it has helped me decide that I definitely want to become a State Trooper.”
The third annual Youth Academy was held June 28 – July 2, 2026. Since its launch, 87 young Kentuckians have graduated from the program. For additional details about the Youth Academy, click here.
The KSP Youth Academy Class 3 graduates include the following second-year and first-year recruits:
Second-year recruits
- Alivia Adkins, Pikeville, Ky.
- Allison Hooley, Louisa, Ky.
- Daxton Lee, Cadiz, Ky.
- Noah Lindon, Georgetown, Ky.
- Chase Neal, Louisville, Ky.
- Laken Shirley, Owensboro, Ky.
First-year recruits
- Domenic Bernal, Winchester, Ky.
- Lynx Black-Tomey, Winchester, Ky.
- Clara Bowman, Richmond, Ky.
- Tyler Bragg, Columbia, Ky.
- Jaylien Carrier, Center, Ky.
- Daegan Caudill, Hueysville, Ky.
- Kira Conley, Winchester, Ky.
- Thomas Davis, Scottsville, Ky.
- Grayson Driskell, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
- Adam Flaig, Hebron, Ky.
- Aden Flores, Jeffersonville, Ky.
- Demetrius Gay, Lexington, Ky.
- Joslynn Gray, Eastview, Ky.
- Gabe Griffie, Hazard, Ky.
- Jeremiah Hall, Louisa, Ky.
- John Hamilton, Whitesville, Ky.
- Hailey Hardin, Lexington, Ky.
- Mackenzie Jones, Sharpsburg, Ky.
- Sawyer Joynt, Winchester, Ky.
- Isaiah Lee, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
- Shannon McKinney, East Point, Ky.
- Demetrius Montgomery Jr., Louisville, Ky.
- Kowen Poteet, Lexington, Ky.
- Maddox Roy, Bowling Green, Ky.
- Marshall Stratton, Parksville, Ky.
- Abram Thomas, Prospect, Ky.
- Carson Waugh, Paris, Ky.
- Clayton White, Gray, Ky.
- Ian White, Whitesville, Ky.
- Emma Wiggins, Lexington, Ky.
During the ceremony, multiple recruits were awarded with special recognition. The Trooper’s Award symbolizes a recruit’s dedication, not only to the program, but also for the recruit who shows the heart, desire and the grit of a Kentucky State Police Trooper. The 2026 Trooper’s Award was presented to Recruit Grayson Driskell from Lawrenceburg, Ky.
The Leadership Award is presented to the class leader as voted on by their peers. Kira Conley, from Winchester, Ky., earned the 2026 Leadership Award.
During the ceremony, the KSP announced the inaugural Ted Bassett Perseverance Award. This award is named after the founder of Trooper Island Camp, the late Retired Colonel Ted Bassett. Since its inception in 1965, Trooper Island Camp has provided over 40,000 children with a safe space to learn, grow and thrive, an enduring reflection of Ted’s passion for creating meaningful change to our commonwealth. The 2026 inaugural Ted Bassett Perseverance Award was presented to Allison Hooley, Louisa, Ky.
The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.
The 2025 Crime in Kentucky Report, released last week, showed the second consecutive decrease in reports of serious crime in the commonwealth. From 2024 to 2025, reports of serious crime decreased by 8.14%.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, more than 2,700 officers have graduated from one of Kentucky’s law enforcement training academies. As of the beginning of this month, 1,837 officers have graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training Basic Training Course and 307 have graduated from the Kentucky State Police Training Academy.
To continue increasing the amount of law enforcement officers protecting the commonwealth and to support the work of KSP, the Governor recently signed Senate Bill 102 to make it possible for retired KSP troopers appointed to Trooper R Class or commercial vehicle enforcement to return and serve the agency within specific timeframes.
In April, Team Kentucky broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training’s new Madisonville campus. When completed, the $50 million project will house two buildings – a 42,800-square-foot classroom and administration building providing learning space, offices and recruit showers and changing areas, as well as a 30,625-square-foot high bay building, which will house an open training area, additional classroom space and gym equipment. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at the new facility. The General Assembly did not include the full $64.8 million requested by the Governor in his executive budget proposal to construct both a driving track and an indoor firing range at the Madisonville facility.
For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, fewer Kentuckians have returned to prison after their release. For two years in a row, recidivism rates in the commonwealth have decreased, meaning that nearly 70% of those released from state custody have not returned.
In December, the Governor joined KSP and first responders in Mayfield to bring local agencies onto the new Kentucky State Police radio system. In his 2026-2028 executive budget proposal, Gov. Beshear requested funding to finish the project and ensure statewide coverage. The budget recently passed by the General Assembly did not provide the funding needed.
Last September, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined KSP to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art Drivers’ Skills Pad at the agency’s training academy in Frankfort. The $2.7 million project will provide troopers, officers and cadets with a facility dedicated to safely practice and refine advanced driving techniques.
In April of last year, Gov. Beshear was joined by members of the Cash family, the Kentucky law enforcement community and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to officially open the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty. The facility is a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
As the Governor recommended in January 2022, $12.2 million was included in the state budget for KSP to purchase body cameras, which is the first time in the commonwealth’s history that funding has been allocated for this much-needed expense.
For more information about KSP’s commitment to creating a better Kentucky by making the commonwealth’s streets safer, communities stronger and the nation more secure by providing exceptional law enforcement, click here.
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