Starting 5: Olympic champions headline Kentucky’s 2024 Hall class, Jay Bilas to deliver lecture

Among the 2024 inductees into the Kentucky Hall of Fame are Olympic and NCAA champions.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (track and field 2016-18), John Cropp (administrator/coach), Henrik Larsen (shotgun 2018), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (track and field 2018), Jodie Meeks (men’s basketball 2007-09) and Corey Peters (football 2006-09) were recently selected.

The Wildcats’ newest Hall of Famers will be inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend on Sept. 20-21.

Camacho-Quinn is the first athlete in Puerto Rico history to win two Olympic medals. She won gold in the 100-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics and bronze at the Paris Olympics. In the United Kingdom, she was a two-time NCAA champion in the 100-meter hurdles and was part of the 2017 4×100 relay team that finished first at the national meet. She holds the program record in the 100-meter hurdles.

Cropp held several positions within UK sports during his 22-year career. One of his most notable accomplishments was being a founding director of the Kentucky softball program in 1997. After his retirement, the softball stadium was named after him in 2013.

Larsen won a gold medal in the smallbore competition at the 2022 ISSF World Championships. In one year with the Wildcats, he won the 2018 NCAA Individual Air Rifle National Championship and set program records in smallbore, air rifle and aggregate. He was named the 2018 NCAA Shooter of the Year and NCAA Freshman of the Year.

McLaughlin-Levrone is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and holds the world record in the 400m hurdles. In one year at Kentucky, she was the NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles and broke the university record (52.75 seconds). She was the SEC champion in the indoor 400m and outdoor 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.

Meeks played for seven teams in ten NBA seasons. He holds the Kentucky record for three-pointers made in a season (117) and the second-most points scored in a season (854).

Peters played 13 years in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars. In his senior year at Kentucky, he recorded 56 tackles, including 12 for loss, and four sacks. He was named first-team All-SEC and was named UK’s Outstanding Defensive Player.

Around town: Louisville women’s golf coach Whitney Young to be inducted into Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame

Louisville women’s golf head coach Whitney Young will be inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024.

Young competed in the 1994 Kentucky State Championships for Glasgow High School as a fourth-grader. At age 13, she became the youngest winner of the Kentucky Amateur in 1998. She also won the 1999 and 2000 titles.

She was a four-time AJGA Polo Golf All-American and represented the United States at the 2002 PING Junior Solheim Cup.

Young was a three-time National Golf Coaches Association All-American at Georgia and a four-time first-team All-SEC selection.

Young started as an assistant coach with the Cardinals, but she has been the head coach for the past five years. Young has led the Cardinals to two regionals. In 2021, they hosted the regional for the first time in program history.

More information about the ceremony will be released later.

More: Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville to host Solheim Cup. What you need to know about the LPGA Tour event

Around the State: ESPN’s Jay Bilas to Speak in Bellarmine in September

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas will speak Sept. 6 at Bellarmine’s Frazier Hall.

Bilas plans to discuss name, image and likeness activities in Division I sports, the transfer portal and the changing landscape of college sports.

The conference will begin at 4 p.m. and admission is free. Those interested in attending are asked to register by September 2 at the Wyatt Conference registration site.

Louisville Basketball Readers’ Letter: Which players stood out in Pat Kelsey’s unofficial debut?

High school recruiting: Trinity baseball player Colton Cravens commits to Northwestern

Trinity High School senior pitcher Colton Cravens recently announced his commitment to Northwestern.

As a junior, Cravens struck out 26 batters and recorded four wins with a 2.30 ERA in 24 ⅓ innings..

Kentucky High School Football Preview: What to Know About Louisville Area Teams and Players

Mark them in your calendars

• Racing Louisville FC will host the Chicago Red Stars at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

• Louisville City FC will visit Hartford Athletic at 7 p.m. Saturday.

• The Louisville Bats will host the Gwinnett Stripers in a six-game series. Games will begin at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 7:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The final game of the series is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. on August 25.

• The Louisville men’s soccer team will host Jacksonville at 5 p.m. Thursday.

• The Louisville women’s soccer team will host New Hampshire at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Then, the Cardinals will travel to Northern Kentucky at 5 p.m. on Aug. 25.

• The Bellarmine men’s soccer team will host Evansville at 7 p.m. Thursday. Then, the Knights will visit Northern Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 25.

• The Bellarmine women’s soccer team will host Asbury at 3 p.m. on Aug. 25.

Do you know a story you think should be included in our weekly Departure Notebook? Send your idea to sportswriter Prince James Story at [email protected] for his consideration. You can follow him at X at @PrinceJStory.

This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: University of Kentucky Hall of Fame Class of 2024 member Jay Bilas to deliver lecture