Kenneth Almendares

Kenneth Almendares (born November 14, 1999) is a Honduran football placekicker. He played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He won the 2024 Lou Groza Award as the top kicker in college football.

Early life Almendares was born on November 14, 1999, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. His family is from Naco in the Cortés Department, and he moved with his parents to the U.S. at a young age. He played soccer growing up before being introduced to football while attending Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas. He became a placekicker in football and was a standout for the school, being named their special teams MVP three years in a row. He finished the regular season having made 27 of 29 field goals, being a four-time SBC special teams player of the week and being named first-team All-SBC, first-team All-American and the Lou Groza Award winner for best kicker nationally.

Professional career Almendares went unselected in the 2025 NFL draft. Almendares received an invitation to rookie minicamp with the San Francisco 49ers, but did not receive a contract from the team.