UK Athletics Announces Hall of Fame Class of 2019

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2019) — The University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced recently, with DeMarcus Cousins (men’s basketball), Henri Junghanel (rifle), A’dia Mathies (women’s basketball), Vic Nelson (cross country/track and field), Don Weber (cross country/track and field) and Andre’ Woodson (football) set to be inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend, Sept. 13-14, in conjunction with the football home game vs. University of Florida.

DeMarcus Cousins, Men’s Basketball, 2010

Cousins was an NCAA Consensus Second Team All-American, including a first-team nod from the AP. He was the 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year selected by the league’s coaches, All-SEC First Team (AP and coaches), and made the SEC All-Freshman Team. Cousins led UK to a No. 1 national ranking, an SEC regular-season championship and an SEC Tournament championship. He averaged 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds, and concluded freshman season with eighth-most rebounds in a single season in UK history with 375. The fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Cousins is a four-time NBA All-Star in his nine-year NBA career and has been named to All-NBA Second Team in 2015 and 2016. He averaged double figures in every NBA season, including 20-plus points in five years.

Henri Junghanel, Rifle, 2010-13

An Olympic gold medalist, World Shooter of the Year and four-time All-American, Junghanel was the leading shooter on UK’s 2011 national champion rifle team. He led UK in shooting average for both air rifle and smallbore during the 2011 national champion campaign and earned All-America distinction all four years as a Wildcat. He was named World Shooter of the Year for 2013, his senior season. Junghanel won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 50-meter prone event and broke the Olympics finals record with a score of 209.5. He also holds the 50-meter prone world record with a score of 211.2 points. Junghanel graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

A'dia Mathies, Women’s Basketball, 2010-13

At UK, Mathies was AP All-American second team (2013) and third team (2012). A two-time finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy, she was the SEC Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Mathies is UK’s all-time leader in steals (320), games played (140) and started (139), while ranking second in scoring (2,014) and 3FG made (177), third in FG made (712), FT made (413) and ninth in assists (349). She was the first player in UK history (men or women) to accumulate over 2,000 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals in a career. Part of UK’s all-time winningest class with an overall 111-30 (.787) record, Mathies helped UK claim an SEC regular-season title for the first time in 30 years in 2012 and advanced to four NCAA Tournament Sweet 16s and three Elite Eights.

Vic Nelson, Cross Country/Indoor Track/Outdoor Track, 1968-71

Nelson won seven SEC individual championships, at least one in each cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. He swept the SEC outdoor three-mile crown all four years as a Wildcat, and was the first male athlete in SEC history to win an event four consecutive years.  Nelson won the individual SEC cross country championship in 1969 and helped UK to the 1970 SEC team title. He claimed the SEC indoor two-mile run in 1970 and 1971, avanced to eight NCAA Championships, participating in a total of 11 events. Nelson was named 1971 UK Athlete of the Year by the K Association. He won an NCAA post-graduate scholarship. Nelson is currently a professor and assistant head of the electrical and computer engineering department at Auburn University. He has been a track meet official at Auburn since 1979.

Don Weber, Track and Field/Cross Country; Athlete 1968-72; Assistant Coach 1978-83; Head Coach 1984-2012

Weber spent 34 years on UK staff, including 28 as head coach of track and field and cross country. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1988 when women’s cross country won the national championship. Athletes he coached earned 10 individual NCAA championships, 225 All-America honors, 92 SEC individual titles, as well as Academic All-America nine times. A champion track and cross country athlete at UK from 1968-72, Weber was an SEC cross country title team member in 1970, which led to All-SEC honors. He also received All-SEC honors in indoor track from 1968-72 and was the SEC 1,000-yard champion in 1972, establishing a then-SEC record 2:10.20. Weber is a two-time SEC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year and three-time SEC Women's Coach of the Year.

Andre’ Woodson, Football, 2004-07

Kentucky’s Most Valuable Player in 2006 and ’07, Woodson led the Wildcats to a pair of eight-win seasons and victories in the Music City Bowls. He was MVP of both bowl wins. Woodson led UK to six fourth-quarter/overtime come-from-behind wins as a junior and senior, including victories over No. 9 University of Louisville and No. 1 Louisiana State University. He threw for 9,360 yards and 79 touchdowns in his career including a senior season completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,709 yards and 40 TDs. Woodson set the NCAA record for most consecutive passes without an interception and the SEC record for most TD passes in a season (40). He also had to lowest interception ratio in a career. All totaled, Woodson set two NCAA records, four SEC records and three UK records.

The UK Athletics Hall of Fame was started in 2005 to recognize and honor persons whose participation and achievements enriched and strengthened the university’s athletics program. The charter class included 88 individuals who previously had their jersey retired by UK.

A committee consisting of Hall of Famers, media members, campus representatives, and current coaches and administrators elects new inductees each year.