Five athletes and one coach across five sports make up Southern Miss’ 2024 M-Club Hall of Fame class.
Former football player Luke Johnson, men’s basketball player Berlin Ladner, track and field high jumper Cedrin Norman, volleyball player Kelsea Seymour Weldon and baseball player Kent Willis represent the athletes in the class. Former men’s basketball assistant coach Robert McInnis is the 2024 honorary inductee. The class was announced by the school on Wednesday morning.
The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 8 at Southern Oaks. Former women’s basketball player Kendra Reed also will be inducted that night after she was unable to attend last year’s ceremony.
Here’s what to know about this year’s inductees.
Luke Johnson (football, 2002-05)
Luke Johnson is third in Southern Miss history in yards-per-punt (42.7). His 76-yard punt against South Florida in 2003 is the fourth-longest in school history and tied for the longest ever at M. M. Roberts Stadium. Sports Illustrated named Johnson a third-team All-American in 2005.
Berlin Ladner (men’s basketball, 1965-68)
Berlin Ladner, brother of fellow M-Club Hall of Famer Wendell Ladner, holds Southern Miss’ single-game scoring record with 45 points set in 1968. Berlin Ladner is also one of 40 Golden Eagles in the 1,000-point club.
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Cedric Norman (track and field, 2001-04)
Cedric Norman was a three-time All-American in the high jump at Southern Miss. His outdoor leap of 7 feet, 6 inches in March 2004 is the program record. He also had the Southern Miss indoor record of 7-3 for 15 years until it was broken in 2019.
Kelsea Seymour Weldon (volleyball, 2008-11)
Kelsea Seymour Weldon, who went by Kelsea Seymour while at Southern Miss, is the program’s only player to be an All-Conference first-team selection in three consecutive seasons. That included a breakout sophomore season when she was the Conference USA Co-Setter of the Year. Her 4,635 assists are the third-most in program history.
Kent Willis (baseball, 1986)
Kent Willis played only one season for Southern Miss but was a key pitcher in coach Hill Denson’s first winning season. Willis set a program record with 11 complete games to go with a 2.89 ERA in 140⅓ innings. Willis was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 1986 MLB draft and played six professional seasons. He then became a minor league coach and was the Mississippi Braves’ very first pitching coach in 2005. Willis is currently the head baseball coach at Vicksburg High School.
Robert McInnis (men’s basketball assistant coach, 1981-96)
Robert McInnis was an assistant coach for M. K. Turk for 15 seasons. During that time, Southern Miss qualified for two NCAA tournaments and five NITs. That included an NIT championship in 1987 and Southern Miss’ first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 1990.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 21:03:00
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