2025 Induction Class: Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
CONTACT – Doug Ireland, DougIreland@LaSportsHall.com
NATCHITOCHES – A champion at every level, West Monroe, LSU and NFL standout Andrew Whitworth, is joined by pro basketball All-Stars Danny Granger and Vickie Johnson, the state’s winningest all-time college baseball coach Joe Scheuermann and Danny Broussard, one of the nation’s most successful high school basketball coaches, among a star-studded eight-member group of competitors’ ballot inductees chosen for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
The LSHOF Class of 2025 also includes LSU gymnastics great and NCAA champion April Burkholder, transformational Catholic-Baton Rouge high school football coach Dale Weiner and George “Bobby” Soileau, an NCAA boxing champion at LSU who won a state crown as a football coach at his alma mater, Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte.
The new class will be enshrined next summer at the Hall of Fame’s home in Natchitoches to culminate the 66th Induction Celebration. Dates for the three-day celebration will be announced soon.
A 40-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association committee selected the 2025 inductees to complete a three-week process. The panel considered 150 nominees from 27 different sport categories on a 34-page competitors ballot.
Also spotlighted next summer will be three other Hall of Fame inductees from the contributors categories: a winner of the 2025 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award and two recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism presented by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the parent organization of the Hall of Fame. Those inductees will be selected and announced later this year.
The complete 11-person Class of 2024 will swell the overall membership in the Hall of Fame to 503 men and women – athletes, coaches, administrators and sports media members — honored since its founding in 1958.
Whitworth won three state titles and two national high school crowns playing for the late Don Shows at West Monroe, then helped LSU win its first national football championship in 45 years under coach Nick Saban in 2003. “Big Whit” capped a 16-year NFL career, mostly in Cincinnati, by starting at offensive tackle as the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI, just a couple of days after he received the 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award for his community activism. He made four Pro Bowls.
Granger, a New Orleans native and Grace King High School graduate, averaged 17 points per game in a 10-year NBA career that included a 2009 All-Star Game appearance and a gold medal win with Team USA at the 2010 World Championships.
Johnson, from Coushatta, ranks among the greatest players in Louisiana Tech Lady Techster program history under coach Leon Barmore, and twice was a WNBA All-Star in 13 seasons in the league. She ended her pro career winning the WNBA’s Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2008.
Scheuermann will join his father Rags, a 1990 inductee, to form the fourth father-son combination in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The others: football greats Dub and son Bert Jones, USA Olympic track stars Glenn “Slats” Hardin and son Billy, and the football family of sons Eli and Peyton Manning, and their father, Archie.
Scheuermann succeeded his dad as baseball coach at New Orleans’ Delgado Community College and last spring eclipsed the late Tony Robichaux of UL Lafayette as Louisiana’s winningest college baseball coach with 1,179 victories in 34 seasons.
Broussard, who will begin his 42nd season coaching basketball at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, has averaged 27.5 wins per year while collecting 1,130 victories to rank seventh nationally and second in the state behind 2019 LSHOF and pending 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Charles Smith of Alexandria’s Peabody Magnet. Broussard’s Cougars have won six state titles and been runner-up four more times.
Burkholder was a 14-time All-American gymnast and as a senior won the 2006 NCAA beam title to cap an LSU career that featured a school-record 108 victories, helping to dramatically elevate interest in the Tigers’ program locally as it emerged as a national power. She was twice Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year.
Weiner retired in 2016 after posting 317 wins, now seventh in state history, in 35 seasons as a high school football head coach. The last 30 were at Catholic, where he built a mediocre program into one of Louisiana’s best as he won 282 games, 9.1 per year, including a 2016 state title. He also coached 18 state championship weightlifting teams with the Bears.
Soileau won four high school boxing state crowns, beginning with his eighth-grade year, and captured the 125-pound NCAA title in 1956 in the heyday of the sport at the state and collegiate levels. He won 159 games in 30 seasons as football coach at Sacred Heart, including a 1967 state championship, and is a 1988 Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee and an inaugural Louisiana High School Boxing Hall of fame inductee.
The 2025 Induction Class will be showcased in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum. The facility is operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and has garnered worldwide architectural acclaim and rave reviews for its contents since its grand opening during the 2013 Hall of Fame induction weekend.
The new competitive ballot inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 394 athletes and coaches honored since the first induction class — Baseball Hall of Famer Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley — was enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.
The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame already includes 25 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, 18 Olympic medalists (including 11 gold-medal winners), 14 members (including pending 2024 inductees Semoine Augustus and Charles Smith) of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, seven of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players, seven National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 45 College Football Hall of Fame members, 10 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, 10 Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, nine National High School Hall of Fame members, nine College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, five National Museum of (Thoroughbred) Racing and Hall of Fame inductees. The LSHOF showcases jockeys with a combined 16 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, four NBA Finals MVPs, four winners of major professional golf championships, and three Super Bowl MVPs.
Biographical information on all current Hall of Fame members is available at the LaSportsHall.com website, and a steady stream of info is available at the @LaSportsHall X (formerly Twitter) account.
The 2025 Induction Celebration will kick off with a press conference and reception. The three-day festivities include two receptions, a free youth sports clinic, a bowling party, and a free riverbank concert in Natchitoches. Tickets for induction events, along with congratulatory advertising and sponsorship opportunities, will be available through the LaSportsHall.com website once the induction celebration dates are announced.
Anyone can receive quarterly e-mails about the 2025 Induction Celebration and other Hall of Fame news by signing up on the LaSportsHall.com website.
The 2025 Induction Celebration will be hosted by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, the support organization for the Hall of Fame. The LSHOF Foundation was established as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit entity in 1975 and is governed by a statewide board of directors. For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Foundation President/CEO Ronnie Rantz at 225-802-6040 or RonnieRantz@LaSportsHall.com. Standard and customized sponsorships are available.
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Competitors
APRIL BURKHOLDER — Competed at LSU from 2003-06, graduating as the school’s most decorated gymnast and still ranking nearly two decades later among the elite in the program’s rich history. A 14-time All-American, she won 108 individual titles to set a school record, including the 2006 NCAA beam title with a score of 9.9125. Recorded eight 10.0 scores in her LSU career: four on floor, two on vault and two on beam. Had a career-best 9.95 on uneven bars. Was the 2003 SEC Freshman of the Year, leading the team with 20 individual titles, including a 39.875 in the all-around in a three-team meet with Centenary and Texas Woman’s University that is still tied for the school record (Haleigh Bryant equaled it in 2023). Was named 2004 SEC Gymnast of the Year, winning 29 individual titles and recording 34 scores of 9.90 or better out of 53 competitive routines. Was also named 2005 SEC Gymnast of the Year, winning 28 individual titles including perfect 10s on vault, beam and floor. Won 31 times in 2006 and finished third in the NCAA all-around. Fan support of the LSU program soared during her career, prompting coach D-D Breaux to say “April was for LSU gymnastics what (2024 LSHOF and Naismith Basketball HOF inductee) Semoine Augustus was for LSU women’s basketball.” Before LSU, Burkholder was a three-time Junior Olympic all-around national champion in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. … Born July 2, 1983 in Harlingen, Texas.
DANNY BROUSSARD – In 41 seasons at St, Thomas More in Lafayette, Broussard has made the Cougars one of the best and most consistent prep basketball programs anywhere … He has a career record of 1,130-349 (.764) … At the end of the 2023-24 season, Broussard stood No. 7 all-time among U.S. coaches in total wins and No. 3 among active coaches, averaging 27.5 wins per season … He is second in state history in wins to 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Charles Smith (Peabody) … STM has made the state playoffs 33 straight seasons, won 25 district championships and has advanced to the state quarterfinals 31 times with 19 appearances in the final four of the state tournament … Has won six state basketball championships (1986, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and finished as state runner-up four times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2024). In the 2019-20 season Broussard became only the fourth Louisiana prep basketball coach to reach the 1,000-win milestone. The three others on that list — Joel Hawkins, Leslie Gaudet and Smith – are all members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame … Has won 20 state championships in three different sports (tennis 13 times, baseball once) … Broussard has been named LSWA Coach of Year three times (1986, 1997, 1999), and 24 times won district Coach of Year … inducted into the Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018… STM was his first head coaching job in 1983 at the age of 23 when he took over from older brother Rickey … 57 former players have become coaches at some level, including three college coaches …One of eight finalists for the 2022 NHSACA National Coach of the Year award. … Born Oct. 25, 1959 in Abbeville.
DANNY GRANGER — A New Orleans native and Grace King High School product, Granger carved out an impressive 10-year career in the NBA, including an All-Star Game appearance, after playing collegiately at Bradley and New Mexico. He was a member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. A 6-foot-9, 222-pound small forward, he was a first-round pick (17th overall) of the Indiana Pacers in the 2005 NBA draft and played 8 1/2 seasons with the Pacers. He started 425 of 544 career games there and averaged 17.6 points and 5.1 rebounds before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat. For his entire pro career, he averaged 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He was starter in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game when he was in the midst of a five-year span in which he became one of the league’s best players. In that five-season stretch from 2008 to 2012, he averaged 21.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 350 games. Shortly after that, he was plagued by injuries and was limited to just five games in the 2012-13 season because of knee tendinitis then missed the first 25 games of the 2013-14 season because of a strained calf. Granger’s best seasons came in 2008-09 (25.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), 2009-10 (24.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and 2010-11 (20.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg). As a collegian, Granger averaged 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds for Bradley and New Mexico. As a senior in 2004-05, he was the only player in Division I to average 18.8 points and pull down 8.9 rebounds. Born 4-20-1983 in New Orleans.
VICKIE JOHNSON – A two-year WNBA All-Star (1999, 2001) and 13-year WNBA standout out of Louisiana Tech’s powerhouse program, Johnson started 408 of her 410 pro contests. For the Lady Techsters’, the Coushatta native was chosen to the 1994 NCAA All-Final Four Team and went on to earn Kodak and Street & Smith All-America honors in 1995 and ’96. Was Sun Belt Conference MVP in 1995 and ’96 and 1996 Louisiana Player of the Year, scoring 1,891 points and collecting 831 rebounds in her college career. Her WNBA playing career began with the league’s inaugural season in 1997 and ended in 2009 after nine seasons with the New York Liberty and her final four with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for her career while hitting 43.1 percent of her field-goal attempts and 82.1 percent of her free-throw attempts. She played her 11,000th minute, a WNBA record at the time, on June 13, 2008 vs. Seattle and was the first person in league history to collect 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in a career. She was added to the Liberty’s Ring of Honor in 2011. Johnson won the WNBA’s Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2008, her last pro season. Went into coaching and was the Dallas Stars head coach in 2022. Born 4/15/72 in Coushatta.
JOE SCHEUERMANN – Scheuermann became Louisiana’s all-time winningest college baseball coach in May 2024 just before he completed his 34th season as head coach at Delgado CC, overtaking the 1,177 wins by 2022 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Tony Robichaux. Scheuermann’s father “Rags” started the program a half-century ago and was a 1990 LSHOF inductee. After a 41-16 mark in 2024, Scheuermann has 1,179 career wins and five trips to the JUCO World Series (2007, 2014-15-16, 2023). Has led program to 14 consecutive NJCAA Region XXIII titles and 17 Super Regional berths in the past 18 seasons as of August 2024. In April 2019, Scheuermann became the first college coach in Louisiana to win 1,000 games at the same school and the 30th coach in JUCO history to reach the 1,000-win plateau. Is a member of NJCAA baseball coaches (2019, was first Louisiana coach inducted into an NJCAA hall) and All American Amateur Baseball Association (2007) halls of fame. Also spent six years as an assistant at Tulane, helping Green Wave reach three NCAA tournaments. Played second base on 1980 state championship team at Redemptorist High School under legendary coach Skeeter Theard before playing at Delgado and Tulane. Served as assistant coach, later manager of New Orleans franchise in the All-American Amateur Baseball Association from 1992-2006, where he won national titles in 1992, 1995 and 2000. A 2016 recipient of Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Eddie Robinson Award for outstanding achievement in athletics, academics, sportsmanship and citizenship while maximizing limited resources. Has placed over 300 former players into four-year programs. In addition to his coaching, maintains and operates Kirsch-Rooney Stadium, which has regularly been home to more than 200 amateur baseball games a year in New Orleans and has worked for four decades on seasonal staff of Allstate Sugar Bowl. … Born 10-15-1962 in New Orleans.
GEORGE “BOBBY” SOILEAU — After making a name for himself as one of the most dominant boxers, which included claiming multiple high school championships and an individual NCAA title for LSU’s nationally-renowned program, the Ville Platte native became a championship-winning football coach at his alma mater — Sacred Heart High School. Soileau’s first boxing state title came in the eighth grade in the 90-pound weight class in 1950. He followed with the 100-pound crown in 1951, the 110-pound crown in 1952 and 125-pound crown in 1954. His lone defeat at state came his junior year in 1953 when he lost the 115-pound title match to Bruce Boudreaux, which is considered one of the greatest fights in state history. Soileau, known for his powerful left jab, was awarded the Francis G. Brink Trophy as a senior which was given to the state’s best boxer. In his five-year prep boxing career, Soileau went 96-2-1 and was inducted into the inaugural Louisiana High School Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013. As a sophomore at LSU, who signed him to a boxing scholarship, he helped the Tigers to a 7-1-1 dual-meet record and won the 1956 NCAA national title in the 125-pound (featherweight) division. After his boxing career was shortened when LSU disbanded the program and he suffered a shoulder injury, Soileau became a high school football coach and returned to his alma mater in the mid-1960’s. In 30 seasons at Sacred Heart, he compiled a record of 159-100-9 in winning at least a share of nine district titles. He won the state Class B title in 1967 with a 13-1 record and was the state runner-up in Class 1A in 1971. A two-time LSWA Coach of the Year, he was inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. … Born 3-6-1936 in Ville Platte.
DALE WEINER — Weiner, a head football coach for 35 years until his retirement after the 2016 season, is one of Louisiana’s winningest coaches, sixth all-time with a career mark of 317-109 (.741). Best known as the head coach at Catholic in Baton Rouge, he’s also been the head coach at Trafton Academy, St. John-Plaquemine and Catholic of Pointe Coupee, where he began his coaching career in 1975 as an assistant to 2016 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jim Hightower. The 1970 graduate of Baton Rouge High School, took over a mediocre program at Catholic-B.R. in 1987 and in 30 seasons there won 282 games (averaging 9.1 wins per season). A three-time LSWA state coach of the year, he led CHS to 18 district tiles, 15 state quarterfinals, eight semifinals, one state runner-up and in 2015 guided his team to the school’s first state football championship with a win over nationally-ranked Rummel. He was 15x district coach of the year in football. A total of 143 of his former players have competed on the college level and 17 have earned spots on NFL rosters — including Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor. His CHS weightlifting team claimed 18 state titles and he is a member of Gayle Hatch’s Louisiana Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Born 3-18-52 in Baton Rouge.
ANDREW WHITWORTH — Nicknamed “Big Whit” for a reason, the 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive tackle was part of national championship teams at West Monroe High School (1998, 2000) and LSU (2003) and closed his career starting for the Los Angeles Rams in their Super Bowl LVI win over Cincinnati, his first NFL team. After helping West Monroe win three state crowns (first in 1997), he was a stalwart for LSU from 2002-05. His 16-year NFL career with the Bengals (2006-16) and the Rams (2017-21) included four Pro Bowls and finished with the Super Bowl championship and the NFL’s prestigious “Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year” award for community activism. A second-team Walter Camp All-American as a senior at LSU and two-time All-SEC selection, Whitworth set a school record with 52 starts (since surpassed) — one off the NCAA mark. As a sophomore in 2003, he started all 14 games at tackle when LSU claimed its first national title in 45 years. He led all Tigers’ linemen in taking 920 offensive snaps, piling up team-highs with 62 knockdowns and 23 pancakes. He missed only one practice during his career and that was to attend his graduation ceremonies. A second-round pick (55th overall) in 2006, Whitworth became the oldest offensive tackle to play in a Super Bowl when the Rams tripped the Bengals, 23-20. A month later, Whitworth called it a career on March 15, 2002, after playing in 239 games with 235 starts; he also played in 15 postseason games — including Super Bowl LII (a loss to New England) — to give him an even 250 for his career. A two-time AP first-team All-Pro (2015, 2017) and four-time Pro Bowl selection, he was named the 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year three days before the Super Bowl win. At West Monroe, he played for LSHOF coach Don Shows, and was also an LHSAA tennis champion. Whitworth has long been a community servant through his BigWhit 77 Foundation. In March 2020, he and wife Michelle, a former Miss Louisiana, donated $250,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank during the pandemic…. He is an Amazon Prime NFL TV analyst. … Born 12-12-81 in Monroe.