LEX18 — UK Athletics and BBN Tonight came together to announce the 2021 class to be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.
Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart introduced the class of former football player Larry Warford, long-distance runner Bob Whelan, track and field star Kendra Harrison, two-time men's basketball national champion Nazr Mohammed, women's soccer star Arin Gilliland Wright, and long-time women's golf coach and director of operations Bettie Lou Evans.
Larry Warford played football at Kentucky from 2009-2012, was named All-America as a senior and first team All-SEC. Kentucky appeared in two bowl games during his time with the program.
He went on to play seven seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, and he was a starter for all seven seasons. His accolades include the 2013 NFL All-Rookie team, and he was named to three Pro Bowls - 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Bob Whelan was a distance runner for cross country, indoor track and outdoor track from 1987-90. He was a three-year All-American and won the NCAA indoor National Championship in the mile run as a senior.
He won six SEC Championships in total and set the Kentucky record in the 1500 meter run at the 1990 SEC Outdoor Championships - a record that stood for 24 years. Whelan was also an integral part of the 1988 Cross Country team that won the SEC Championship. He was a two-time UK Male Athlete of the Year and an academic All-American.
Kendra Harrison, also track and field, is the current world record holder in the 100-meter hurdles, and she is currently training for the Tokyo Olympic trials.
As a senior at Kentucky, Harrison was the National Track Athlete of the Year, as well as the NCAA Champion in the indoor 60-meter hurdles and the outdoor 100-meter hurdles. She was NCAA runner-up in the 400-meter. That season, the team finished second place overall at the NCAA Championships, good for the best finish in school history. In total through her indoor and outdoor seasons, Harrison is a 15-time All-American, five-time SEC Gold Medalist and was also an academic All-American.
Nazr Mohammed is a two-time National Champion as a member of UK's 1996 and 1998 title teams. In 1998 Mohammed was the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder. That season, he was named All-SEC and to the All-SEC Tournament team.
Mohammed would go on to play 18 years in the NBA, winning a championship in 2005 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. After his playing career, he moved to the organizational side and is currently a scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was an early entrant to the NBA draft and recently returned to Kentucky to finish his degree in Business Management.
Arin Gilliland Wright is the first women's soccer player to be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. She played at Kentucky from 2011-2014.
Over her time in Lexington, she was named as an All-American, a finalist for National Player of the Year, and a finalist for ESPNW's Female Athlete of the Year award. Wright was a three-time First-Team All-SEC and won one of the NCAA's most prestigious awards: the 2014 the Honda Award for Inspiration. Wright is currently playing professional soccer with the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League.
Bettie Lou Evans was the head coach of Kentucky women's golf for 23 seasons, in which she led UK to fourteen NCAA Regionals and five trips to the NCAA Championships. Under her guidance, Kentucky had three national top-10 finishes, including a school-record fifth-place finish in 1986. During her decades-long stint with UK, she was honored as SEC Coach of the Year and Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
After retiring from coaching, Evans served as UK's Director of Golf Operations for seventeen years. Evans is already a member of the National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame, Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the Transylvania University Hall of Fame.
