TOPEKA (KSNT) – The 2026 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame announced a record number of inductees.
This year, 32 individuals, including 12 posthumous honorees, have been selected to enter the KSHOF.
“The practice has been to honor 10-12 people each year, but we have a considerable backlog of outstanding nominees,” KSHOF chair Jeff Bollig said in a release. “The hall of fame board of directors, which oversees the selection of honorees annually, thought it was important to rightfully recognize outstanding representatives of the Sunflower State who may have missed out when the selections were dormant for 10 years.”
These inductees will be honored at one of the three different events this summer.
The baseball legends: July 18 in Kansas City, KS
- Chester “Chet” Brewer – All-Star pitcher in Negro League baseball
- Edward Dwight Sr – Outfielder and second baseman in the Negro Leagues
- George Giles – All-Star Negro Leagues first baseman and manager
- Carroll Ray “Dink” Mothell – Topeka native, was a player and manager in the Negro Leagues
- Charles Willber Rogan – Player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs
- Diego Segui – Major League pitcher and 1970 ERA champion
- Frank Wickware – A Negro League standout from 1910-1925 and was considered the fastest pitcher before Satchel Paige emerged.
Ticket information for Kansas Baseball Legends ceremony can be found here.
Wichita Ceremony: July 25 in Wichita, KS
- Bob Barratti – Member of K-State’s two-mile record relay team
- Greg Brummett – Member of Wichita State’s 1989 College World Series team & MVP
- Steve Crosby – 33-year tenure in the NFL as a player, scout and assistant coach
- Judy Dyer – Topeka native, qualified for the 1968 Olympics in the 80-meter hurdles
- DeAngelo Evans – Holds the Kansas high school football record with 8,472 career rushing yards
- Maurice Evans – Played in the NBA for nine years and internationally two years
- C.J Hamilton -All-time winningest high school football coach in Kansas. Former Silver Lake head coach
- Mike Kennedy – Spent 46 years as the “Voice of the Shockers”
- Nathan Leeper – Top-ranked US high jumper from 2000-01
- Ricky Ross – One of the best all-time high school basketball players from Wichita
Ticket information for the induction ceremony in Wichita, Kan. can be found here.
Kansas City Ceremony: August 16 in Kansas City, KS
- Ray Bechard – Longtime KU volleyball head coach
- Matt Besler – Five-time MLS All-Star and 2012 MLS Defender of the Year
- Cliff Illing – Brought professional major league outdoor stadium soccer to the state as the principal owner of Sporting Kansas City
- John Martin – Longtime artist whose work can be seen all over the world
- Dayton Moore – General Manager of the Royals 2015 World Series team
- Tracy Rietzke – Successful volleyball coach at Kansas Wesleyan and Rockhurst
- Cassie (Wait) Valentine – 2016 Big 12 Libero of the Year at Kansas
- Earl Watson – 13 seasons in the NBA, head coach of the Phoenix Suns from 2016-2017
- Larry Wilcox – 42 years as Benedictine head football coach
- Zach Roberson – Owns the all-time best record in Kansas high school wrestling at 153-0 with four state titles
Ticket information for the induction ceremony in Kansas City, Kan. can be found here.
Posthumous honorees
- Terry English – Built a girls basketball dynasty at Bishop Miege High School
- Derrick Jensen – 30 year member of the NFL
- Richard Metz – 14 professional golf career victories
- Nino Samuel – Set the standard in Kansas high school basketball
- Everett Shelton – Head coach of multiple different sports, 850-437 all-time record across all sports at all levels
The KSHOF inducted its first class in 1961. This year’s class now brings the total number of Inductees to 379.
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