02/24/26 – Introducing the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026
PrintFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEB. 24, 2026
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association will induct its Class of 2026 into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame presented by Roberts Insurance on Sunday, April 26, at the Central Bank Center Ballroom in Lexington. With the introduction of this year’s 13-member class, the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame has grown to 542 all-time members since its inception in 1988. Tickets to the Induction Ceremony will be available for purchase at a later date on khsaatickets.org.
Makayla Epps (Athlete / Marion County)
Makalya Epps graduated in 2013 from Marion County High School and, along the way, led Marion County girls’ basketball to the pinnacle of high school basketball. Epps played for the Lady Knights from 2007-2013, scoring 3,321 points with 839 assists and earning four First Team All-State selections. Epps was the driving force, leading Marion County to four straight 5th Region titles from 2010-2013. As a sophomore, Epps led Marion County to a state semifinal appearance and, a year later, a runner-up finish in 2012. Marion County capped off a 39-0 campaign by winning the KHSAA Sweet 16® title in 2013. That four-year span saw Marion County win 133 games against just 14 losses. With Epps on the hardwood, the Lady Knights finished their perfect 2013 campaign ranked fourth in the country by USA Today. Epps was named Miss Basketball in 2013 and a 2013 McDonald’s All-American Selection. She would go on to attend the University of Kentucky, scoring 1,790 points and earning All-SEC honors three times. She was drafted by the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and, at the time of her induction, is currently the girls’ basketball coach at Marion County.
Gwen Doyle Howard (Athlete / duPont Manual)
Gwen Doyle Howard is a 1990 graduate of duPont Manual and has one of the greatest resumes in Manual’s rich sports history. Doyle-Howard was the power in the paint on the hardwood for Manual’s three-peat as 7th region champions from 1988-90. In eight Sweet 16® tournament games, Doyle-Howard had 167 points and pulled down 99 rebounds. The 3-time All-State performer for the Lady Crimsons was named MVP of the Louisville Invitational Tournament in 1989 and 1990, selected as the 1990 Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky, and a member of the USA Today Super 25. She concluded her career in Crimson as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,997 points. Doyle-Howard still holds Manual’s single-game records with 50 points and 40 rebounds. Over her final two seasons, she led the Lady Crimsons to a combined 69-7 record. After high school, Doyle-Howard attended the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University, scoring more than 2,000 points with more than 1,000 rebounds.
James Haire (Coach / Elizabethtown)
James Haire has done it all at Elizabethtown High School, and he continues to succeed 30 years after taking over the Panthers’ program. Haire is a cornerstone of the E-town community, and at the time of induction, has 542 wins coaching boys’ basketball while setting a standard of excellence. Five times Haire has guided the Panthers to the Sweet 16®, and in his first trip, in 2000, pulled off one of the greatest runs in state tournament history. Twice, Elizabethtown rallied to win in the final seconds and then captured the title by storming back from a 13-point second-half deficit to win going away over Lexington Catholic. In 2021, Elizabethtown returned to the Sweet 16® and took home a runner-up finish. The accolades received by Haire extend beyond the court as he guided E-Town to the 1994 KHSAA Class 2A boys’ track championship. Haire earned multiple Coach of the Year honors and, in 2018, was a finalist for National Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
Jody Hamilton (Coach / Raceland, Boyd County, West Jessamine, Owensboro Catholic)
Jody Hamilton’s baseball career as a player and coach in Kentucky is on a level all to itself. The Ashland native has coaching stints at Raceland, Boyd County, West Jessamine, and at the time of his induction, is at the helm of the Owensboro Catholic Aces baseball team. During his 40-plus years coaching on the diamond, Hamilton has a record of 1,038 wins against just 409 losses, including state championships at Boyd County (2001) and West Jessamine (2015), and is the only coach to win baseball state championships at two different schools. In 2016, Hamilton was named National Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. As Owensboro Catholic’s Ace-in-the-hole head coach, Hamilton’s team won the All-A title in 2024 and All-A runner-up in 2025 and has led O-Cath to region titles in 2022 and 2024. Hamilton’s 1,038 career wins currently rank him 4th in state history. The Hall of Famer also coached West Jessamine golf to four region titles from 2007-2010. Hamilton played baseball at Morehead State and was named the OVC Player of the Year in 1979, and upon graduation, held career records in eight categories.
Chuck Medley (Coach / Saint Xavier)
Chuck Medley coached cross country at Saint Xavier for 21 years and track and field for 16, compiling some of the most impressive numbers ever recorded. Across both sports, Medley won 25 regional championships, but that was just the beginning of the greatness. Under Medley’s tutelage, Saint Xavier won 10 KHSAA State Cross Country Championships, which is tied for the most in state history, to go along with four runner-up finishes. Twice, Medley coached Saint Xavier to Top-5 national rankings by MileSplit in 2012 and 2017, and to a Top-20 campaign in 2005, and guided five Tigers to individual state championships. Medley’s track & field teams were spectacular as well, claiming three state crowns and five finishes as runners-up. Three times Medley coached the team to Mason-Dixon Games Indoor State titles. In all, the popular math teacher at St. X coached 24 individuals and eight relay teams to become relay track & field champions, sending more than 60 athletes to run on the collegiate level.
Joe Morris (Coach / Mayfield)
Mayfield is one of the great football programs in Kentucky history, and Joe Morris played a vital role in the Cardinals’ success, first as a player and then as a coach. Morris was the head coach on the gridiron for a quarter of a century, and in those 25 seasons from 1999-2024, Morris finished with an overall record of 299-56. Of those seasons, the Cardinals made 21 trips to the state semifinals, played in 14 state championship games, and won 7 state championships. From 2009-2015, the Cards played in seven consecutive state finals, winning five titles, including four in a row from 2012-2015. Morris’s final state crown was in 2023 when Mayfield outlasted Owensboro Catholic 53-48, the second-highest scoring game in KHSAA football state championship history. Morris’ career winning percentage was an astounding 84%, one of the highest in Kentucky high school state history.
Glenn Napier (Athlete / MC Napier)
Glenn Napier graduated from M.C. Napier High School in 1978, cementing his legacy as one of the most amazing athletes to ever emerge from the 14th region. He was a deadly outside shooter on the court and an accomplished baseball player on the diamond. As a guard for the MC Napier Navajos, Napier was rarely contained as he routinely torched opponents to the tune of 25 points a night or better. After being named honorable mention All-State during a time when the Commonwealth was continually producing high-level NCAA Division I basketball players, Napier became a 4-year performer at Morehead State. With the Eagles, Napier scored more than 1,300 points and, at one point, held the national record for consecutive free throws made. He also played baseball for the Eagles. When his playing days were finished, Napier coached basketball at Dilce Combs and Breathitt County in the 1980’s winning 94 games in six seasons before donning the stripes as an official, where he would spend the next 20 years as one of the best officials in the state. Napier was in referee stripes for the 1999 girls’ Sweet 16® as well as the boys’ Sweet 16® tournaments in 2006 and 2008, and was a finalist for the 2008 KHSAA state basketball official of the year. Napier served as the linesman for the 2000 Class AAA football championship.
Larry Pursiful (Athlete / Lone Jack/Bell County)
Larry Pursiful attended Lone Jack High School and Bell County, graduating as a Bobcat in 1958. He was a sensational player for the Mustangs and Bobcats, and alongside Bobby Slusher, was a vital piece to a devastating 1-2 punch at Bell County. Pursiful was a 3rd-team All-State selection in 1957, a 1st-team choice in 1958 while averaging 27 points a game, and was the Southeastern Kentucky Conference MVP. His accolades include being named to the Kentucky All-Stars in 1958. The University of Kentucky was the only school to actively recruit Pursiful as the marksman from Four Mile signed with Adolph Rupp in December of 1957 and would score 946 points in three varsity seasons under the Baron, serving as team captain during the 1961-62 season. Pursiful was also a Wildcat on the baseball diamond, playing his sophomore through senior year. The Bell County native was also honored with the A. B. Happy Chandler trophy, awarded annually on the basis of leadership, scholarship, character, and ability. A first-team All-SEC selection in 1962, he was chosen by the Chicago Packers, now Washington Wizards, in the 1962 NBA Draft, but chose to play for the Phillips 66 Oilers. He was a member of the USA All-Star team that toured the United States and the Philippines playing against the Russian All-Star team. Pursiful coached at LaRue County, winning 89 games in six seasons before transitioning into ministry.
Lynn Ray (Coach / Covington Catholic)
Lynn Ray began his coaching tenure at Covington Catholic in 1975 and built the Colonels into a football powerhouse. The process was slow, but then it exploded with incredible success. Ray would win 234 games in a 30-year run, during which Covington Catholic became not only a state title contender but also won a pair of back-to-back Class 3A state championships in 1987 and 1988, again in 1993 and 1994, with his final title in 1997. Ray was selected to coach the Commonwealth All-Stars in the 1990 Kentucky-Tennessee All-Star game, was named the 1992 Coach-of-the-Year in Kentucky by the Courier-Journal, and was among the coaches who first organized the Kentucky Football Coaches Association in 1993.
Riherd Family (Contributor/Riherds Sport Shop, Riherds.Com, KHSAA/Riherds Scoreboard)
For more than 50 years, the Riherd family, a longtime fixture in Smith’s Grove, has been a key supporter and contributor to the KHSAA, providing services that have benefited its student-athletes, coaches, and community. The late Frank B. Riherd was a long-time supporter of the KHSAA as the owner of Riherd’s Sports Shop and was the Association’s trophy supplier for more than two decades. His daughter, Lily, and son, Frank T. Riherd, served the Association with its trophy needs for several years as the senior Mr. Riherd headed toward retirement. Frank T. then collaborated with the Association staff and was the lead engineer and developer of the Riherds/KHSAA Scoreboard, starting with the 1997-98 school year. Frank T. also served the Association on a daily basis as its web developer, building many internal tools for the Association’s daily management, and continued to manage the trophy operations for the KHSAA in conjunction with Riherds.com through the 2023-24 school year before transitioning to its current ownership group. Preserving his legacy by continuing a scoreboard for the member schools, their student’s coaches and community is the best way to show appreciation for this family, and that scoreboard project will continue to bear the family name. This induction honors the Riherd family, in particular Mr. Frank B. Riherd, his widow, Ora, his daughter, Lilly, and his son, Frank T., who labored daily in support of the KHSAA.
Bill Mike Runyon (Coach / Paintsville)
When you say the name of Paintsville, the name Bill Mike Runyon should immediately come to mind. The 1974 graduate of Paintsville guided his alma mater’s boys’ basketball program for 30 years, winning 581 games. In the 1980s and 1990s, Paintsville was a fixture at the Sweet 16®, making consecutive trips from 1985-1987 and then 1995-1998. Runyon’s final regional championship at the helm of the Tigers program was in 2008. During this time, the Tigers also played in four Sweet 16® Final Fours. Paintsville’s Top Tiger is one of only six coaches in Kentucky High School basketball history to have coached two Kentucky Mr. Basketball award winners (John Pelphrey, 1987 and J. R. VanHoose, 1998). The crowning jewel of Runyon’s career was in 1996 when Paintsville captured the Sweet 16® championship, defeating Ashland in the championship game. That title was the first for the 15th region since 1954 and, to date, the lone Sweet 16® championship in Paintsville history. Following his coaching career, Runyon was appointed and later elected mayor of Paintsville.
Emma Talley (Athlete / Caldwell County)
Emma Talley was a 2012 graduate of Caldwell County, carding one of the most accomplished careers in state history on the links. Talley played in seven consecutive golf state tournaments from 2005 through 2011 and dominated Kentucky high school golf. Talley won six consecutive regional individual titles, including 2008, 2010, and 2011, with the last by a whopping 10 strokes. She would have won four state championships in a row, but in 2009, Talley self-reported a scorecard error that led to her disqualification. This situation has long been one of the best displays of character and integrity at a KHSAA state championship event. Talley was named Ms. Golf by the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association in 2008. Named the nation’s No. 1 recruit by Golf Week Magazine, Talley qualified for the U.S. Open in 2011 and 2012 and won ten events in the American Junior Golf Association. The Princeton native set an AJGA record in 2010 by winning the Huntsville Junior with a score of 18-under, winning by 22 strokes, and landing a spot on the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup Team. Named to the 2011 Rolex 1st team High School All-American, Talley went on to play at Alabama, where she was a first team All-American, a three-time All-SEC selection, won the U.S. Amateur in 2013, and captured the NCAA Championship in 2015. Talley retired from the LPGA in 2025.
Curtis Turley (Coach / Warren Central, Greenwood, Henderson County, Daviess County)
Curtis Turley travelled the Commonwealth like no other in his 32 years as a head basketball coach. Starting at the young age of 22 in 1976, Turley was named head coach at Berea, and he would soon begin crisscrossing the Commonwealth, making stops at no fewer than a dozen schools in Kentucky. Wherever Turley went, success followed, both on and off the court, and over the next three decades, he would win 624 games with 17 seasons of 20 or more victories. Turley is one of a handful of coaches to take three different schools to the Sweet 16®: Warren Central in 1982 and 1983, Henderson County in 1990, and Daviess County in 2003. Turley would be named Coach-of-the-Year by the Lexington Herald Leader in 1996, helping guide Daymeon Fishback to Mister Basketball honors that same year. That same year, he was named Coach-of-the-Year by the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Louisville Courier-Journal. The 1988 Coach of the Kentucky All-Stars has been A mentor to a myriad of coaches spanning the last 50 years. Turley was a co-founder of the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches and was previously inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Kentucky All-Star Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.
– KHSAA –
About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 290 member schools, both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 229 state championships to 59 teams and 178 individuals in 13 sports and six sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 109,000 rostered member school student-athletes, provides coaching education and sports safety programs for more than 12,000 coaches and licenses and facilitates the distribution of training material for over 4,000 contest officials.
Official KHSAA Operations Partners
