Tamika Catchings and Kellie Harper speak at CATCH98 movie premiere
Tamika Catchings and Kellie Harper speak at the CATCH98 movie premiere at the UTK Student Union on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel
Former Lady Vols basketball All-American Tamika Catchings was announced Sunday as a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Catchings, who played at Tennessee from 1997-2001, was surprised by the announcement, which came during the Lady Vols’ game against Georgia at Food City Center. Catchings serves as an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Networks, which broadcast the game.
Catchings, 45, was a key player on Tennessee’s 1997-98 undefeated national championship team and earned multiple accolades, including four-time All-American honors and the 1998 NCAA Freshman of the Year award.
“Tamika Catchings is one of the most accomplished and respected players in the history of women’s basketball,” Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame executive director Brad Willis said in a release. “From her time at Tennessee under Pat Summitt to her hall of fame career in the WNBA and her leadership off the court, Tamika has left an incredible legacy.”
After her college career, Catchings was selected third overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Over her 15-season WNBA career, she became a 10-time All-Star, MVP (2011), and led the Fever to a league championship in 2012, where she was named Finals MVP.
Catchings also made an impact on internationally, winning four Olympic gold medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) as a member of Team USA.
In 2020, Catchings was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She has also in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Catchings joins fellow former teammate Chamique Holdsclaw, Andy Kelly, Ron Slay, Joe Behling, the late Jack Jenkins, Chris Woodruff, Deon Grant, Doug Mathews, Derrick Mason, Stephen Gostkowski, Larry Kenon, Priscilla Gary Sweeney, the late Ronnie Robinson, the late Phillip Clark, Tony Allen, Elston Turner, George Pitts, and Bob Brown as announced members of the Class of 2025. The full class will be released in the coming weeks.
The hall of fame induction ceremony will take place on July 19 at the Omni Nashville Downtown.
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