Jeannette football, basketball star Kymon’e Brown named TribLive Westmoreland County boys athlete of the year

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, June 28, 2025 | 4:38 PM

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Kymon’e Brown is constantly striving.

The rising senior at Jeannette aims to be a better leader each time he joins his teammates, and he is always looking to improve with an eye toward one-upping his opponents and proving himself.

He wants to be great — not just good, as he says — and that also includes burying his nose in playbooks and studying game film at length.

Yes, a lot goes into each workout, each film session, each play and each win for Brown, the 2025 TribLive Westmoreland Boys Athlete of the Year. There is so much that drives the two-sport standout on his mission.

That includes …

“Changing the program,” he said. “And (setting an example) for all the kids that look up to me. And wanting to go D-I and trying to turn my dreams into reality. When people talk about Jeannette, they talk about Terrelle Pryor. When people talk about Jeannette now, I want them to talk about Kymon’e Brown.”

Samir Crosby of Greensburg Central Catholic, Trevor Kovatch of Belle Vernon, John Wetzel of Latrobe and Jarret Garn of Mt. Pleasant also were considered for the county’s top athlete.

Brown is a key playmaker in football and basketball, the quarterback and point guard who sets up the play and often times punctuates it.

He guided the underdog Jayhawks (9-4) to a pair of WPIAL Class A playoff upsets last fall — 23-7 over No. 4 Neshannock and 29-23 over No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic — before the No. 13 seed’s unexpected run finally ended with a 49-14 loss to Fort Cherry in the semifinals.

The 6-foot, 160-pound Brown, who also played slot receiver, cornerback and safety, completed 95 of 184 passes for 1,844 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 1,257 yards and 15 TDs.

He had 40 tackles and two interceptions on defense.

Asked what makes Brown a special athlete, Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone said simply, “His heart.”

“He’s his biggest critic and looks in the mirror after performances,” Paulone said. “He has a special ability to make guys miss in a phone booth.”

Brown, who did not begin the season at quarterback, is getting recruited to play college football. He has a Division I offer from Navy.

Brown was the catalyst in basketball, too, when he and the Jayhawks won their first WPIAL championship since 2008.

The “slim reaper” as Jeannette public address announcer Tim Carney calls him, averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.4 rebounds for the Class 2A champion Jayhawks (25-3), who also made the PIAA quarterfinals.

“It’s his competitiveness, the ability to lead,” Jeannette basketball coach Adrian Batts said. “He thrives for big moments. He has that ‘it’ factor that the great ones have. Things come to him very easy.”

In the past, Brown also has played baseball for Jeannette, a dependable center fielder with untrained ability to cover ground.

No matter what sport he plays, Brown knows his family is watching.

“What drives me is my family, my grandma,” he said. “For real, I want her to be able to say my grandson made it. Just being able to say I’m the best — you don’t ever want someone to say their better than you — so I just go out there and show everyone why I am who they say I am and never to be satisfied.”

Brown also ran track as part of a co-op with Hempfield and was a WPIAL qualifier.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette