The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will have its induction banquet held at the Omni Nashville Hotel on Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m.
This year’s class will feature 15 inductees. Here’s are the award winners, followed by what you should know about the 2026 class.
Monica Abbott
Monica Abbott was the most dominant pitcher in Tennessee softball history. She won 189 career games, the most in Division I history at the time, was a three-time SEC pitcher of the year and a three-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist, winning the award 2007. Abbott earned silver medals for her play with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Jennifer Azzi
The former Oak Ridge High School standout starred at Stanford University, winning multiple Pac-10 championships. Her success expanded at the international level and WNBA where she won Olympic and World Championship gold medals with USA basketball while playing for the Detroit Shock, Utah Starzz and San Antonio Silver Stars. Azzi retired from professional basketball in 2004 and moved into coaching from 2010-16. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball hall of Fame in 2009.
Matt Cain
Matt Cain was a star pitcher at Houston High and was selected No. 25 overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2022 MLB Draft. He was nicknamed “The Horse” because of his workhorse-like mentality and became the youngest player to ever make his Major League debut at 20 years old in 2005. He won 104 games and struck out 1,694 batters with a 3.68 lifetime ERA before retiring in 2017.
Jerry Caldwell
Jerry Caldwell began work at Bristol Motor Speedway as an intern in 1997 before becoming the general manager in 2010 and president in 2022. He was part of such monumental events as the “Battle at Bristol,” the Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech football game as well as the Speedway Classic, the 2025 MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Mike Clary
Mike Clary’s legacy was built on longevity as one of the most successful multi-sport administrative figures in NCAA Division III history. He started coaching Rhodes College Track and field, swimming and diving, football and women’s golf teams during the early 1980s while simultaneously becoming the athletic director in 1990.
Reggie Cobb
Cobb was an powerful, explosive running back who shared the field with Charles McRae and Antone Davis during his time at Tennessee He rushed for more than 2,300 yards and becoming one of the school’s all-time leaders in rushing touchdowns. Cobb was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Buccaneers in the 1990 NFL Draft and rushed for more than 3,700 yards in his career.
Antone Davis
Antone Davis dominated opposing defenders as a vital piece to the Volunteers offensive line in the late 1980s. He helped Tennessee win consecutive SEC championships in 1989 and 1990, winning a unanimous All-American award and the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC’S Best Blocker and was an Outland Trophy finalist. Davis was selected No. 8 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1991 NFL Draft and played 97 games in seven seasons.
Kermit Davis
Kermit Davis won more than 300 victories as the Middle Tennessee State men’s basketball coach, the highest mark in the history of its basketball program. His most notable moment came in the midst of his coaching dominance when No. 15-seed MTSU shocked second seed Michigan State in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. He most recently coached at Ole Miss from 2018-2023.
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol was a key contributor for Spain’s national team and the Memphis Grizzlies, earning a 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in Memphis and winning multiple Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals. Gasol attended Lausanne Collegiate in Memphis and won Tennessee’s Division II Mr. Basketball in 2003. He averaged 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his NBA career.
Bubba Luckett
Bubba Luckett was one of the most prestigious players and head coaches in Memphis high school basketball history. He set 12 different school-records as a player at Christian Brothers High School, which includes holding the record for most points scored in a game (44), season (601) and career (1,677). As a coach, Luckett won five different local and national coach of the year awards at his alma mater and won more than 700 games along with the 2022 DII-AA state championship after going 28-0.
Charles McRae
Charles McRae carved out a dominant Volunteers career of his own as a force on the offensive line from 1987-90. He was teammates with Davis, who were picked right after each other in 1991 and made history as the first two offensive tackles selected in the top-10 of the NFL Draft (McRae No. 7 overall). McRae played five seasons at tackle and guard with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one with the Oakland Raiders during his professional career.
Ron Mercer
Ron Mercer was recognized for his basketball dominance across all levels. He was a two-time Tennessee Mr. Basketball at Goodpasture Christian before transferring to Oak Hill and becoming one of the most highly recruited players in the nation. Mercer played two seasons at Kentucky and is known for his crucial 20-point performance as a freshman in a victory during the 1996 national championship game. Mercer was a SEC Player of the Year before he was drafted sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1997. Mercer scored 5,892 career points in the NBA.
David Price
David Price, a former Blackman High standout, is Vanderbilt baseball’s all-time leader in strikeouts and had one of best single seasons in college baseball history in 2007. He swept every major award honor including the Golden Spikes Award (best amateur player), the Dick Howser Trophy (national player of the year) and the Roger Clemens Award (best pitcher), while leading his team to its first SEC regular season and tournament titles. Price was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 by the Tampa Bay Rays. He earned five All-Star selections, the 2012 American League Cy Young and a 2018 World Series championship with the Red Sox.
Pete Weber
Peter Weber has been the play-by-play commentator for the Nashville Predators since their first season in 1998. He became one of the most notable figures in the NHL radio scene next to his commentary partner Terry Crisp. Weber has called more than 2,000 games as a broadcaster, including work with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL, the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA and professional bowling. He was inducted into the Nashville Predators Golden Hall in 2025 and still calls Predator hockey games.
Jason Witten
Jason Witten, a former Elizabethton High standout, was a standout tight end at Tennessee before being taken in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He spent 17 seasons in the NFL, catching more than 1,200 passes for more than 13,000 receiving yards in his career. Witten was awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012.
Other honors
The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame will also honor several others for their achievement this past year.
Tennessean of the Year: Candice Lee, Vanderbilt
Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement: Rick Insell, MTSU
David Williams Significant Achievement: Dylan and Carter Nutt
Pro Athlete of the Year: Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
Pro Team of the Year: Nashville SC
Amateur Athletes of the Year: Maya Johnson, Belmont; Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee; Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Amateur Teams of the Year: Vanderbilt women’s basketball, Freed-Hardeman men’s basketball
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Meet the 2026 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame class
About the Author
