2024 Distinguished Service Honorees and Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

October 16, 2024 3:18 PM

Updated October 18, 2024 3:20 PM

Head of School Awards recipients Samuel D. Holmes '83 and Phillip B. Whitaker, Jr. '79.

Baylor School honored 12 members of the school community during the Head of School Awards and Memorial Chapel Service on Oct. 4, as part of the Alumni Weekend 2024 festivities.

Samuel D. Holmes ’83 was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. The John T. “Buddy” Fisher ’46 Distinguished Service Award was Philip B. Whitaker, Jr. ’79.

Dedicated Service honorees were awarded to recent retirees Leslie Davenport (27 years), and Perry Key ’81 (36 years).

The eight new Sports Hall of Fame inductees were Precious Birdsong ’14 (softball), Samantha Caswell ’14 (tennis), Ben Cook ’91 (tennis), Martin Grodzki ’09 (swimming), Tim Parker III ’98 (basketball), and Stephanie Napier Threlkeld ’06 (swimming).

Phil Hibdon,former equipment manager, and Doug Moser, girls' softball and basketball coach, were inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame posthumously for their service and contributions to the school's athletic program.

Enjoy photos here: Head of School Awards Ceremony and Luncheon in Lupton Circle

Pictured above *(front row left to right)* are Samual D. Holmes '83, Philip B. Whitaker, Jr. '79, Ben Cook '91, Precious Birdsong '14, family members of the late Phil Hibdon and **Doug Moser,** Sandy Neuhoff, Sara Moser and Adam Moser, and Rev. Ed Snow; (back row) **Perry Key '81, Stephanie Napier Threlkeld '06, Samantha Caswell '14,** and Tim Parker, III '98. Not pictured, **Martin Grodzki '09.**

Sports Hall of Fame inductee Precious Birdsong '14 at the awards luncheon in Lupton Circle *(seated above, second right)* with family members and **Coach Kelli Howard Smith '95**, Susan Wilson, and former Head of School **Scott Wilson '75**.

Retired science and Walkabout instructor **Perry Key '81** *(above left)* is pictured at the awards luncheon in Lupton Circle with family members and fellow faculty colleagues **Tim Laramore '99** and Betsy Carmichael (above right).

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Compete at Baylor

What's Your Sport?

Our athletes train to win, but they also commit to the development of character, life skills, sportsmanship, and teamwork.

We offer 17 sports, and we field 74 teams in grades 6-12.

Baseball

Five state championship titles since 2003
Three USA national team players Since 2015
Last three TBCA Mr. Baseball winners: Tomas Valincius ‘23 (UVA), Cooper Kinney ‘21 (Tampa Bay Rays), Henry Godbout ‘20 (UVA)
Cooper Kinney Named 2021 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year; drafted 1st round by Tampa Bay Rays

Visit Baseball Team Page

Basketball (Boys)

Boys' Basketball

Winners of eight Mid-South and two state championships in program history
State finalists in 2018; state semi-finalists 2019 and 2020
Since 2018, six players have signed to play collegiately, including at the University of South Carolina, University of Evansville, Lee University, Bethel College (IN), and Rhodes College
2013 Alumnus Reggie Upshaw is still playing professionally with Telenet Giants Antwerp following a 4-year career at Middle Tennessee State University
Program has played in historic Duke Arena since 1949

Visit boys' basketball team page

Basketball (Girls)

Cheerleading

Cross Country (Boys)

Boys' Cross Country

Eight state championship titles and five runner-up finishes since 1986
Seven individual state championships since 1995
Seven Chattanooga Cross Country League championships since 2010
Four Times Free Press Best of Preps runner-of-the-year recipients since 2009
Baylor holds competitions on our 690-acre wooded campus along the Tennessee River

Visit boys' cross country team page

Cross Country (Girls)

Girls' Cross Country

Seven state championship titles and two runner-up finishes since 1991
Three individual state championships since 2009—Hannah Jumper (2009, 2010) & Mae Mae Powe (2020)
Five runners have earned a collective ten all-state honors since 2020: Emmy Davis, Hannah Rosser, Helen Webb (4x), Addi Greene (2x), Mae Mae Powe (2x)
Coach Heather Ott has received Chattanooga Times Free Press Coach of the Year awards six times since 2006, most recently in 2021, and earned Tennessee State Coach of the Year in 2010
Baylor holds competitions on our 690-acre wooded campus along the Tennessee River

Visit girls' cross country team page

Fencing (Boys and Girls)

Football

Reigning 2022 TSSAA state champions
Seven TSSAA Mr. Football Winners since 1997
Class of 2023 sending signed players to Stanford, Princeton, Ole Miss, Duke, UTC, and more
Returning roster sports two top-five prospects in state for class of 2024 and #1 ranked athlete nationally for class of 2025
#1 nationally ranked program in 1973
NFL Hall of Fame inductee John Hannah graduated from Baylor in 1969
Coach Erik Kimrey played quarterback at USC for legendary coach Lou Holtz and coached at USC as well.

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Golf (Boys)

Boys' Golf

Winners of 20 state championship titles since 1988, including 16 of the past 23
Seven individual state champions since 1995
Four active players on the PGA tour (Harris English, Luke List, Keith Mitchell, Stephan Jaeger)
Coach Gary Partick named MaxPreps Greatest Active H.S. Golf Coach in the USA in 2023
Ranked Times Free Press #2 sports dynasty of the past 50 years

Visit boys' golf team page

Golf (Girls)

Girls' Golf

Winners of 20 state championship titles since 1995 and 16 of the past 18
14 individual state champions since 1997
Brooke Pancake ‘07 is an active LPGA player; Blakesly Brock ‘14 captured 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and competed in the 2022 LPGA U.S. Open
Coach Gary Partick named MaxPreps’ Greatest Active H.S. Golf Coach in USA in 2023
Ranked Times Free Press #2 Sports Dynasty of the past 50 years

Visit girls golf team page

Lacrosse (Boys)

Boys' Lacrosse

State championship semi-finalists in 2021 and 2022
Tyler Rice ('24), Trey McDonald ('22), and Brody Liston (‘21) named USA Lacrosse All-Americans
Eli Bowen (‘21) earned USA Lacrosse Academic All-American Honors
Coach Tyler White played and coached for perennially nationally ranked Dickinson College

Visit boys' lacrosse team page

Lacrosse (Girls)

Rowing (Boys and Girls)

Rowing

2023 Tennessee/Georgia State Rowing girls' champions
Scholastic Nationals participants in 2008, 2009, and 2016
Baylor boys and girls rowers consistently compete in college, including for Princeton, MIT, UNC, Boston University, Clemson, Coast Guard, Tufts, Alabama, Tennessee, and more
On-campus boathouse and dock on the Tennessee River with access to over 60 miles of usable training and competition
Coach Garrison Smith rowed at Yale collegiately and previously coached at the Taft School and the Kent School in Connecticut

Visit boys' rowing team page

Visit girls' rowing team page

Soccer (Boys)

Boys' Soccer

Nine state championship titles, including six titles since 1997 and most recently in 2022
2022 state championship team was ranked #3 nationally in final United Soccer Coaches Association rankings; 2023 team ranked #13 nationally
Nine members of the class of 2023 signed to play in college next year
The program has three full-sized dedicated fields, including two grass and one turf
Coach Curtis Blair was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 and has been named United Soccer Coaches Association “Coach of the Year” four times

Visit boys' soccer team page

Soccer (Girls)

Girls' Soccer

Finished 2023 season ranked #2 nationally by MaxPreps and #14 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches Association
2023 TSSAA D-II state champions, adding a 10th state championship title and 17th finals appearance since 1995
Multiple current players signed to play at NCAA Division I level
The program has three full-sized dedicated fields, including two grass and one turf
Coach Curtis Blair was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 and has been named United Soccer Coaches Association “Coach of the Year” four times

Visit girls' soccer team page

Softball

16 state championship titles, including nine in a row and twelve of the past thirteen
Ranked #8 in Times Free Press’s Top Sports Dynasties of the past 50 years
Sydney Berzon ‘22 (LSU) won Gatorade’s Tennessee Player of the Year award
Over the past ten seasons, the program has accrued a 244-30-1 (.887) record
Over 25 players have earned college softball scholarships in Coach Smith’s tenure
Coach Kelli Smith won two state championships playing for Baylor as a student and went on to play at Georgia Tech; Coach Smith was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2022

Visit softball team page

Swimming and Diving (Boys and Girls)

Swimming and Diving

15 Olympic Trials qualifiers and over 75 NISCA All-American honors earned since 2005
2020 NISCA Combined National Dual Meet Championship Title
Girls’ team named Swimming World National High School Champions in three of past four seasons
Boys’ team has won three Swimming World Independent School National Champions three times, including most recently in 2018
Students have recently signed to swim at Princeton, Stanford, Harvard, Penn, UNC, UVA, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, amongst many other top-tier colleges and programs
Coach Payton Brooks earned 2023 TISCA Coach of the Year honors in his first season at the helm at Baylor; previously Coach Brooks swam at West Virginia Univresity and coached at Virginia Tech, Pinnacle Racing, and Bolles School

Visit boys' swimming and diving team page

Visit girls' swimming and diving team page

Tennis (Boys)

Boys' Tennis

14 team state championship titles and 12 state runner-up finishes since 1971
Roscoe Tanner, 1977 Australian Open champ and 1979 Wimbledon runner-up, and Brian Gottfried, 1977 French Open finalist and 1980 Wimbledon semi-finalist, were both 1969 graduates of Baylor
Wes Cash and Pem Guerry won the 1975 Nationals Title in doubles for Baylor
Ranked 12th most dominant dynasty of the past 50 years by Times Free Press

Visit boys' tennis team page

Tennis (Girls)

Track and field (Boys and Girls)

Track and Field

Coach Jeff Gaither was named 2023 Chattanooga Times Free Press Girls's Track Coach of the Year
Girls have earned seven state championships and three runner-up finishes since 1997, including a 2023 state runner-up finish
Boys have earned two state championship and two runner-up finishes since 2000
Evie Culbreath ‘23 (UNC-bound) earned four 2023 Individual State Titles, including the Pentathlon.
Mae Mae Powe ‘24 earned a 2023 State Championship title in the 3200

Visit boys' track and field team page

Visit girls' track and field team page

Volleyball (Girls)

Girls Volleyball

Two state championship titles and four state runner-up finishes since 2014
13 state semi-finals appearances since 2009
31 all-state players since 2009, including 2014 Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year Gabby Gray
Five players named Chattanooga Times Free Press Player of the Year including Elaine Redman in 2020
Since 2009, over 22 players have continued to play at the collegiate level. 11 have played at NCAA Division I programs such as West Point, Brown, College of Charleston, and more.
Coach Sarah Lail has been named Times Free Press Best of Preps Coach of the Year three times since 2014

Visit girls' volleyball team page here

Wrestling

5 consecutive traditional state championship (2019-2023) titles and 19 overall since 1978
13 dual state championship titles since 2001
Eight 2022 & 2023 Fargo All-Americans (USA Wrestling Junior & 16U National Championships), including four separate finalists
26 National Prep All-Americans since 2015, including five finalists and a champion
Since 2017 Baylor wrestlers have signed with Cornell, UNC, UPenn, UVA, Indiana, Michigan State, Oregon State, Wyoming, Chicago, and other high-end academic and wrestling institutions
Jordan Leen (‘04) is a 2008 NCAA Champion and 3X All-American (Cornell) and current Brown University Head Coach

Link to wrestling team page

What's it Really Like?

to compete at Baylor?

Québec native Noah Gravel '23 - now playing football at East Tennessee State University - shares his Baylor School experience.

Competing at Baylor as a Boarder

key benefits

More Opportunities

Boarding school athletes spend the vast majority of their time on campus, meaning the practice field is never far away. With such gorgeous weather, the opportunity to train is front and center. Boarding schools often have better sports programs than public or private schools, and you'll see that difference in Baylor's athletics program. Some of our most successful sports include swimming, wrestling, baseball, softball and tennis. And we don't just have a few successful sports like many schools do. Our program is incredibly well-rounded, with strong performances in everything from swimming and soccer to football and fencing.

outstanding facilities

Longer Seasons

Sense of Community

One benefit of competing at Baylor as a boarding student is a strong sense of community. Boarding students might run into their teammates in the dining hall and talk about the big game over lunch, or practice together in their free time. Coaches are there to help students with more than just their accomplishments in their sport — they play an important role in the community as mentors for our students.