Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Announces 2026 Induction Class, Featuring Louisiana High School Sports Icons
CONTACT – Doug Ireland, DougIreland@LaSportsHall.com
NATCHITOCHES – Recent Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Sylvia Fowles, NFL stars Joe Horn, Todd McClure and Pat Williams, Major League Baseball All-Star Jonathan Lucroy and legendary basketball coaches John Brady, Mike McConathy and Dewain Strother make up a star-studded eight-member group of competitors’ ballot inductees chosen for 2026 induction in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Additionally, for the third time this decade, the Hall will present the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, this time to Warren Morris, the Alexandria native and resident whose walk-off home run won the 1996 College World Series for LSU, resulting in the Bolton High School product becoming a lifelong spokesman for college baseball, the CWS and LSU.
The LSHOF Class of 2026 is headed by Fowles, a four-time USA Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) who helped LSU to four consecutive Final Fours from 2005-08. She was an eight-time WNBA All-Star in a 15-season pro career that included WNBA Finals MVP honors as she led the Minnesota Lynx to league crowns in 2015 and 2017. Fowles was chosen as one of the WNBA’s Top 25 Players of All-Time in 2021 and entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last weekend and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June.
Horn was a four-time Pro Bowl receiver (2000-02, 2004) and fan favorite in seven seasons (2000-06) with the New Orleans Saints in a 12-year NFL career. McClure, a Baton Rouge native and two-sport All-Stater at Central High School, was an All-Southeastern Conference and All-America center for LSU before 14 NFL seasons, all in Atlanta, that earned him a place in the Falcons Ring of Honor. Williams, a defensive tackle from Wossman High School in his hometown of Monroe, reached three straight Pro Bowls (2006-08) while with the Minnesota Vikings in a 14-season career that started with the Buffalo Bills.
Lucroy starred for three years at catcher for Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns and was a third-round 2007 MLB Draft pick by Milwaukee, where he earned a pair of American League All-Star Game appearances (2014, 2016) and was fourth in voting for the 2014 AL Most Valuable Player award as pinnacles of a 12-year big league career.
Brady won 402 games in 25 seasons of college basketball coaching at Samford, LSU and Arkansas State, with 190 victories in 10 seasons with the Tigers including three SEC regular-season championships (2000, 2005, 2006) and a run to the 2006 NCAA Final Four. That year’s March Madness was also a career highlight for Bossier City native McConathy, whose 14th seeded Demons stunned No. 3 seed and Big Ten Conference champion Iowa in one of three NCAA tourney trips (two wins) for NSU. The former Louisiana Tech star guard won a state-record 682 games as a college coach in 16 seasons at Bossier Parish Community College and 23 at Northwestern.
Strother is the nation’s second-winningest high school girls basketball coach, retiring in 2023 with a 1,235-395 (.758) record that includes 21 trips to the state semifinals and 11 championship game appearances, collecting five LHSAA titles for Florien High in southern Sabine Parish.
The new class will be enshrined next June 25-27 at the Hall of Fame’s home in Natchitoches to culminate the 67th Induction Celebration. Ticket information for the seven events over three days of festivities is available at the LaSportsHall.com website.
A 40-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association committee selected the 2026 inductees completing a three-week process. The panel considered 153 nominees from 27 different sport categories on a 34-page competitors ballot, with 61 reaching the final phase of deliberations.
Also spotlighted next summer will be three other Hall of Fame inductees from the contributors categories: a winner of the 2026 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award and two recipients of the 2026 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 12-person Class of 2026 will swell the overall membership in the Hall of Fame to 515 men and women – athletes, coaches, administrators and sports media members — honored since its founding in 1958.
The 2026 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 402 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 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, 11 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, 10 Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, 10 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, nine National High School Hall of Fame members, 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 five quarterbacks with a combined seven Super Bowl MVP awards.
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 2026 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, are available through the LaSportsHall.com website.
Anyone can receive quarterly e-mails about the 2026 Induction Celebration and other Hall of Fame news by signing up on the LaSportsHall.com website.
Also on the website, anyone can join the Hall of Fame Team, which provides members with exclusive content and priority access while generating financial support for the Hall of Fame museum.
The 2026 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, or Foundation Director of Business Development and Public Relations Greg Burke at 318-663-5459 or GregBurke@LaSportsHall.com, or by calling the Foundation office at 318-238-4255 (HALL). Standard and customized sponsorships are available.
Online ticketing and event information for the 2026 Induction Celebration is available at this link:
www.LaSportsHall.com/Induction2026
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
2026 Induction Class
Competitors
JOHN BRADY
John Brady was the third LSU men’s basketball coach to lead the Tigers to the Final Four as they stormed through the 2006 NCAA Tournament to reach the national semifinals in Indianapolis. A former Louisiana high school coach, he also was a head coach on the collegiate level at Samford and Arkansas State. He coached 25 seasons at the college level and had a record of 402-325 (.538) before retiring following the 2016 season. Brady had his most success at LSU, where, in 10-plus seasons, he was 192-139 (.580). He took a program that had been hit with NCAA probation and suffered scholarship reductions prior to his arrival and led the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament and two NIT berths. Brady won three SEC regular-season titles (2000, 2005, 2006) after leading Samford to back-to-back conference titles (1996-97). He later won Sun Belt regular-season crowns at Arkansas State (2011, 2013). His third LSU team in 2000 went 28-6, the second-most wins in a season at the school, and he reached the Sweet 16. His 2006 team, which included an all-Louisiana starting five plus sixth man, went 27-9 and claimed LSU’s first SEC regular-season title in 21 years. The fourth-seeded Tigers’ march to the Final Four included upsets of top-seeded Duke (62-54) and No. 2 seed Texas (70-60, OT) before Brady’s team fell to UCLA 59-45 in the national semis. … Born 9-17-1954 in McComb, Miss.
SYLVIA FOWLES
The winner of four Olympic gold medals with Team USA (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), an all-time WNBA great and a 2025 inductee into the Women’s Basketball and Naismith Memorial Basketball halls of fame, Sylvia Fowles made her name helping LSU to four consecutive Final Fours (2005-08). A 6-foot-6, 217-pound center, the Miami native and McDonald’s All-American was a dominant force for LSU when the Tigers compiled a 129-22 record in her time in Baton Rouge. She averaged a double-double for her four-year career (15.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg), shooting 58.4% from the field and increasing her scoring average in each of her final three seasons after netting 11.8 points and 9.0 rebounds as a freshman. She averaged 15.9 ppg and 11.6 rpg (sophomore), 16.9 ppg and 12.6 rpg (junior) and 17.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg (senior). She was a menace on defense and averaged 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals over her 144-game career. A first-team All-American as a junior and senior, she was the SEC player of the year, SEC defensive player of the year and national defensive player of the as a senior in 2008. The second overall pick of the 2008 WNBA draft, Fowles was an eight-time all-star in 15 seasons with the Chicago Sky (2008-14) and Minnesota Lynx (2015-22) and led Minnesota to league titles in 2015 and 2017 – earning MVP finals award both times. Fowles scored in double digits in all 15 seasons and notched career averages of 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds – shooting a WNBA-record 59.9% from the floor in 408 games. She’s the all-time leader in rebounds per game (9.8) and was the leader with 4,006 total rebounds when she retired (since surpassed by Tina Charles). Fowles is still fourth in blocked shots (721). A three-time All-WNBA first-team pick, she was the league MVP in 2017 and was voted defensive player of the year four times. … In 2021, she was chosen one of the WNBA’s Top 25 Players of All Time as one of the league’s best and most influential players of its first 25 seasons. Her No. 34 jersey has been retired by LSU (the only other one is Seimone Augustus) and Lynx. A 2009 LSU graduate, Fowles founded the Sylvia Fowles Family Fund in 2010 to help needy children and is a spokesperson for the Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE). … Born 10-6-1985 in Miami, Fla.
JOE HORN
A wiry and flashy wide receiver and four-time Pro Bowler (2000-02, 2004), Horn was a fan favorite and record-breaker with the Saints from 2000-06 after joining the team as an unrestricted free agent (Kansas City), helping New Orleans to the NFC South title and a playoff berth in his first season. He is a 2010 Saints Hall of Fame inductee, enshrined in his first year of eligibility. In seven seasons with the Saints, Horn came close to breaking Eric Martin’s career club records in receptions and receiving yards with 523 catches for 7,622 yards — coming up nine catches and 232 yards short. He had 50 career receiving TDs, however, breaking Martin’s old club mark by two — a mark that was later surpassed by 2021 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Marques Coltson (72) and Jimmy Graham (55). Horn set a club record with 11 receiving TDs in 2004 (which was tied by Colston in 2007 and broken by Graham with 16 in 2013), and had a record four in a Dec. 21, 2004 game with the New York Giants. Horn had a team-record 28 100-yard games (which was later tied by Colston) in his seven-year stint with the Saints and also set club receiving marks for a single season with 94 catches and 1,399 yards — both in 2004. His 94 grabs, the same number he had in 2000, are still the sixth-highest single-season total in club history behind Michael Thomas (124 in 2018, 104 in 2017, 149 in 2019), Graham (99 in 2011) and Colston (98 in 2007). Horn averaged a remarkable 88 catches, 1,306 yards and eight TDs over a three-year stretch from 2000-02, making the Pro Bowl each time. Going into the 2025 season, he still ranked fifth in Saints’ annals in catches (523) and was third in receiving yards (7,622) and receiving TDs (50). Colton had 72 TDs and Graham had 55 to surpass Horn’s 50. Horn is also second all-time in averaging 74.7 yards per game (Thomas is the all-time leader with 79.4). Horn finished a 12-year NFL career with Atlanta in 2007, totaling 603 receptions, 8,744 yards and 58 TDs (in seven years with the Saints, four with the Chiefs, one with the Falcons). His son, Jaycee, was a first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and was a starting cornerback for the team going into the 2025 season. … Born 1-16-72 in New Haven, Conn.
JONATHAN LUCROY
A two-time MLB All-Star (2014, 2016) who was fourth in the National League MVP voting in 2014, Jonathan Lucroy was a record-setting catcher at UL and led the Ragin’ Cajuns to two Sun Belt titles and the 2007 NCAA regional finals before a 12-year major league career. Lucroy, who signed with the Milwaukee Brewers after being a third-round 2007 MLB Draft pick following his junior season at UL where he set career records for RBI (184), doubles (54) and total bases (414) while hitting 35 homers. He had a .356 batting average and .612 slugging percentage despite splitting time as a freshman when he hit .379 with five homers and 48 RBI in earning Freshman All-America honors. A two-time All-Sun Belt selection, Lucroy moved from Low-A to the majors in just two seasons, making his first MLB start in 2010 and starting for the Brewers for six seasons. He hit .301 with 69 RBI and a league-leading 53 doubles in 2014 — an MLB record for doubles by a catcher, breaking Pudge Rodriguez’ mark — and started the All-Star game. Also a 2016 All-Star (.299, 13 HR, 56 RBI), Lucroy still holds several Brewers records, has been enshrined on the club’s Wall of Honor, and is the catcher on several all-time Brewers teams in their 55-year franchise history (The Baseball Scholar lists him as one of top 20 players in Brewers history). After he joined the Texas Rangers and helped them win the 2017 AL West title, he led the AL in fewest errors by a catcher (10) and most caught stealing (31) as Oakland’s starting catcher in 2018. Injuries plagued final pro seasons, but his defensive prowess earned him roster spots for seven other clubs before he retired in 2021 with a .274 career average in 1,210 games with 108 HRs and 548 RBI. Lucroy caught for Team USA in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics, winning gold in 2017. … Born 6-13-1986 in Eustis, Fla.
TODD McCLURE
Following four seasons with LSU in which he started 37 games at center and was a two-time All-SEC pick (1997, 1998) to go with a first-team All-America honor from the American Football Coaches Association as a senior, Baton Rouge native Todd McClure embarked on an equally-remarkable 14-year NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons. While it didn’t start well in 1999 when he tore his ACL in training camp after being drafted in the seventh round (No. 237 overall), the 6-foot-2, 290-pounder made up for it over the next 13 seasons. Taking over as the starting center midway through the 2000 season, McClure was a model of consistency and reliability over the next 10 seasons — playing in 159 of a possible 160 games before missing the first two games of the 2011 campaign. He rebounded to play all 16 games in 2012, then retired after playing 198 regular-season games with 195 starts. Amazingly, he was called for just 22 penalties in 198 games — averaging 1.7 per year. He had no penalties in 7 games in 2000 and none in 13 in 2011. Nicknamed “Mud Duck,” McClure also played in nine playoff games, pushing his total to 207 for his career. He helped Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame running back Warrick Dunn to three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (2004-06) when Dunn totaled 3,662 yards rushing with 16 touchdowns. When he retired, Falcons owner Arthur Blank promised to recognize McClure as one of the franchise’s greatest linemen with a spot in the team’s Ring of Honor — which finally happened on Oct. 30, 2022. McClure was a three-sport star (All-State in football and baseball, and a basketball standout on a state finals team) at Central High in Baton Rouge. … Born 2-16-1967 in Baton Rouge.
MIKE McCONATHY
The winningest college basketball coach in state history, Bossier City native Mike McConathy was a prep All-American guard at Airline High School who became one of Louisiana Tech’s great players before launching a history-making coaching career. His 682 wins (330 at Northwestern State in 23 seasons, 352 in 16 seasons after starting the Bossier Parish CC program) tops any state college coach in men’s or women’s basketball. McConathy’s overall 330-373 mark at NSU included a winning record (220-203) in Southland Conference games while he led the Demons into 117 guarantee games bringing in over $5 million to the school’s athletic budget — including road wins at Auburn, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, UTEP and neutral-court victories over Oregon State and 15th-ranked Iowa in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. As a college point guard at Tech, he averaged 20.7 points per game with 2,033 points (1973-77), winning Southland Player of the Year honors as a junior for a conference championship team. An NBA Draft pick by Chicago, he made it to the final cut and briefly played professionally in Europe. His 43-year coaching career began as girls coach at Airline High, before he launched the Bossier Parish CC program, playing home games at Airline. His 16 seasons building the Cavaliers into one of the more successful NJCAA programs, including seven seasons of 23-plus wins, in March 1999 he took over a Demons’ program with only five winning seasons and no postseason trips in 24 years of Division I history. Without a roster makeover, McConathy led Northwestern to the Southland Conference championship game to cap his first season, then won that game the next season to earn the first of four postseason tournament appearances (NCAA 2001, Opening Round win over Winthrop; NCAA 2006, No. 14 seed First Round upset of No. 3 seed and Big Ten Tournament champ Iowa; NCAA 2013, First Round loss to eventual NCAA champion Florida) and the 2014 CIT. His NSU teams made seven Southland championship game appearances (four straight from 2005-08) and graduated 90 percent of his players. Five Division I head coaches, including Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams, New Mexico’s Paul Weir, Dave Simmons of McNeese and UNO’s Mark Slessinger, were part of his NSU staffs. He is in the Louisiana Tech and NSU athletic halls of fame, the Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions and NSU’s Hall of Distinguished Educators as he served as an active faculty member during his 23 seasons. The Prather Coliseum court was named for him Feb. 15, 2025. … Born 12-27-55 in Bossier City.
DEWAIN STROTHER
Second nationally and the all-time state leader in girls basketball coaching wins, Dewain Strother retired following the 2022-23 season after spending his entire career at Florien High School in basketball-rich Sabine Parish, coaching for 40 years. He was a 2023 inductee into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame. His Florien Lady Black Cats qualified for the state tournament 39 times and reached the semifinals 21 times, including his final season. He compiled an overall record of 1,235-395 after starting the program in 1982. Florien won six state championships with Strother at the helm and finished second in the state five times in its 21 Final Four appearances. His last team finished 29-3 and played in the state semifinals. Strother was the state Class B coach of the year five times, including his final season, and he was named district coach of the year 24 times. Strother was athletic director for over 30 years at Florien and also served at times as softball coach and golf coach. In addition to retiring from coaching, Strother also retired from teaching after 49 years at Florien High. He was named the Sabine Parish Teacher of the Year for the 1982-83 academic year. … Born 8-21-50 in Oakdale.
PAT WILLIAMS
A Monroe native and former Wossman High star, Pat Williams was undrafted out of Texas A&M but played for 14 NFL seasons as one of the league’s top run-stoppers from his defensive tackle/nose tackle spot. Williams played in 200 games with 157 starts with the Buffalo Bills (1997-2004) and Minnesota Vikings (2005-10) and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2006, ’07 and ’08. His tenure with the Vikings was marked by solid play against the run game. The 315-pounder joined Minnesota in 2005 and the team finished 19th in the league against the run that season, but they led the NFL for three years in a row from 2006 to 2008, the Vikes were second in 2009 before dropping off slightly to ninth in Williams’ final season in 2010. The Vikings allowed just 61.6 rushing yards per game in 2006, 74.1 in 2007, 76.9 in 2008 and 87.1 in 2009 when they reached the NFC title game against the Saints. In a five-year span, 60-game span from 2006 to 2010, they allowed just 80.4 rushing yards per game. Williams made 466 tackles and also had 20.5 career sacks with nine fumble recoveries, eight forced fumbles and one interception. He was a second-team member of the 2000s All-Decade Team compiled by Pro Football Reference. Ranked by an array of media outlets among the top 100 players in Bills and Vikings history, he collected an incredible 37 game balls presented by coaches during his career. An under-the-radar prospect out of high school, Williams was a two-time All-American at Navarro (Texas) CC then earned All-Southwest Conference second-team honors while getting just six starts as a junior with the Aggies. …Born 10-24-1972 in Monroe.
Contributors
Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award
WARREN MORRIS
An Alexandria native and resident, Warren Morris provided one of the greatest moments in college baseball history, hitting a two-out, two-run walk-off home run to win the 1996 College World Series for LSU. It was Morris’ only home run of the 1996 season due to a hand injury. His story has been chronicled by ESPN as part of the SEC Storied series, “The Walk Off.” Since retirement from professional baseball several years later, Morris has become a roving representative not only of LSU baseball, but of the CWS and college baseball, making countless appearances and lending involvement and support to many civic and charitable causes and organizations. A graduate of Bolton High School, Morris came to LSU as a walk-on, redshirted and began as an outfielder. He eventually was given the task of replacing three-time All-American Todd Walker at second base. As a sophomore, in his first season starting at second base, Morris earned second-team All-American and All-SEC honors after leading LSU in average (.369), runs (70), hits (93), stolen bases (18) and on-base percentage (.481). He was a first-team Academic All-American. Morris earned a spot on the 1995 USA national team, finishing third in batting (.361) with 5 homers and 21 RBI from the leadoff position. Entering his junior season as a preseason All-American, Morris broke the hamate bone in his right wrist at some point early in the season and had surgery, missing 39 games. He returned to the LSU lineup at the SEC Tournament. Adding to his legend, LSU was 22-0 in games Morris started in 1996. Remarkably, Morris was LSU’s leading hitter in the NCAA Tournament at .433 with 3 doubles, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored. Morris finished his LSU career with a .338 average. He played in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in for Team USA that won bronze, leading the team in hitting (.409, 5 homers, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored). Morris was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 MLB Amateur Draft by the Texas Rangers, later traded to the Pirates’ organization. He made his MLB debut on Opening Day 1999 and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .288 with 15 homers and 73 RBI. He would go on to play parts of four more seasons in the majors before eventually retiring. Now a banker in his hometown, in high school Morris earned letters in baseball, basketball and cross country, graduating in 1992. He was chosen as an inaugural member of the Bolton High School Hall of Fame in 2024. … Born 1-11-74 in Alexandria.
Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award
One recipient to be selected in Fall 2025
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Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism
Two recipients to be selected in Fall 2025