The women’s basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025 was made public on Friday, and the list includes a quartet of former college basketball stars who went on to leave their mark at the highest level of the game in the WNBA. The class will be inducted next June during a ceremony that will take place at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville.
The honorees include former players Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter and Alana Beard, all of whom have been at the mountain top and won at least one WNBA championship. Fowles and Bird both walked away from the game at the end of the 2022 WNBA season.
Embed from Getty ImagesBird, a 12-time WNBA All-Star, is one of the elite point guards who has won at every level of her career. Her outstanding resume includes two NCAA titles while at the University of Connecticut, four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm and five Olympic gold medals.
“She managed to be the brains behind the curtain and just made sure that everything went exactly the way it was supposed to go,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Friday night. “And then she did that in the WNBA, and she did that in the Olympics, and did it better than anybody’s ever done it.
“There’s not been a point guard playing the game of women’s basketball that’s played it better, or longer, or had more success.”
Fowles won four of those Olympic medals alongside Bird. She can also brag about two WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017, respectively, as well as taking home Finals MVP honors both times.
“Syl is the most dominant center to ever play in the WNBA and was an impossible matchup on both ends of the floor,” Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Syl would outwork you on duck-ins to score the ball, beat you to the spot to deny a post touch, and come across the lane from the help side to send a shot to the fifth row. But the joy she brought to the team, the franchise, and the fanbase every day is what we will cherish forever.”
Pondexter, a seven-time All-Star, won two WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury and was named Finals MVP in 2007. Beard, a four-time All-Star, captured a WNBA championship with the Los Angels Sparks in 2016.
They are joined by former coach Lucille Kyvallos, who is recognized for her tenure at West Chester College and Queens College. She accumulated a combined 311-73 record with those programs, which is an impressive .809 winning percentage. Her team at Queens broke barriers, taking part in the first women’s college basketball game at the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena’, Madison Square Garden that had over 12,000 fans in attendance in 1975.
There is also Mark Campbell, who has been patrolling the sidelines at Division II Union University for the past 25 years and has led the program to four NAIA championships in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. Last, but certainly not least, Danielle Donehew, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association executive director, will also be inducted during the June 14 ceremony.
“We are honored to pay tribute to seven distinguished legends of this exceptional sport,” said Hall president Dana Hart in a statement published by the Associated Press. “They exemplify the highest standards in women’s basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport along with shaping the game’s historical trajectory.”
