Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Announced

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Three great names in the history of Western Kentucky University Athletics will be inducted as the 28th class into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies set for Homecoming Weekend this fall.

The 2018 class includes Crystal Kelly (women's basketball), Matt Wilhite (baseball) and Rick Yeloushan (swimming).

The induction of the 2018 class will bring the number of former WKU athletes and coaches to earn berths in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame to 152 since its founding in 1991.

The induction ceremony will highlight the annual W-Club Homecoming Brunch, set for 10 a.m. CT, Saturday, Oct. 27, on John Oldham Court in E.A. Diddle Arena.

Tickets for the event, which is open to the general public, are $20 each and can be purchased and/or reserved:
• online at alumni.wku.edu/wclubbrunch18 (then click on the "Registration" box and fill out the reservation form)
• by calling 1-888-WKU-ALUM (1-888-958-2586) or, locally in the Bowling Green area, 270-745-4395;
• or, by contacting either W-Club Treasurer Bill Edwards (270-791-9881; bill.edwards@wku.edu) or W-Club Secretary Paul Just (270-792-4247; paul.just@wku.edu).

Each W-Club member who has paid his/her 2018-19 dues may claim two complimentary tickets to the event; however, seating is limited and reservations MUST be made — either online, by phone with the Alumni Association, or with Edwards or Just — to ensure seating is available. Non-members, and the general public, are welcome, but must purchase tickets (see above). Letterwinners who have not yet paid their '18-19 dues may do so online via credit card (at alumni.wku.edu/joinwclub) or at the door with a prior reservation.

The inductees will also be honored in ceremonies on Jimmy Feix Field at halftime of the annual Homecoming Football Game, set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Head Coach Mike Sanford will pit his Hilltoppers against Conference USA foe Florida International at Houchens Industries - L.T. Smith Stadium. Tickets for the game are available by calling 1-800-5-BIG-RED (or 270-745-5222). A reminder: W-Club members with a valid 2018-19 membership card may claim one complementary ticket to the football game and purchase additional tickets at a discounted rate.

The 2018 WKU Athletic Hall of Fame class:

Crystal Kelly (Basketball, 4 letters, 2005-08)
Kelly made an impact on Lady Topper basketball as a freshman in and went on to become one of the most decorated athletes in program history. A three-time All-American (2005, '07, '08) and four-time first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, she was the SBC Player of the Year as a senior (averaging 22.6 points and 10.5 rebounds an outing while leading the nation with her 64.4% school record field goal percentage). Going out in style, she scored a school record 42 points in her final home game. She set WKU career marks for both scoring (2,803 points, also a SBC record and the 12th highest total in NCAA Division I history) and rebounding (1,258). She ranks #1 and #2 in the Lady Topper season books for points (770 and 767) and per-game scoring (24.1 and 22.6). And, she holds WKU standards for season scoring for a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Overall, she set 19 school records. She is the only Lady Topper to post single season field goal percentages of 60%-or-more — a feat she achieved all four of her years on The Hill. She is the only Lady Topper to lead the club in rebounding all four years; and, she and Lilllie Mason are the only two to lead the team in scoring all four years. A jersey bearing her # 42 is retired and hanging in Diddle Arena. A product of Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, was drafted by the Houston Comets of the WNBA and played four seasons of pro ball. She is now an assistant coach at Xavier University.

Matt Wilhite (Baseball, 4 letters, 2000-03)
Wilhite earned All-America honors as a senior after being named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year to become the first releiver in league history to win the award. Twice named the SBC Relief Pitcher of the Year ('02 and '03), he was a two-time All-South Central Team selection and All-Sun Belt pick, making him the only pitcher in WKU history to be named first-team All-SBC twice. In 2006, he was one of three Hilltoppers (the only pitcher) named to the Sun Belt 30th Anniversary Team. He holds WKU records for both season (37) and career (110) appearances as well as career saves (23). He led the Hilltoppers in appearances three times — as a rookie in '00 (27) and in both '02 (33, tying the school record) and '03 (37, setting a new school standard). He was tops on the club in ERA in both '02 (2.20) and '03 (1.77). His eight wins was the team-high for '03; and, he led WKU in saves 3 times — '00 (8), '02 (7) and '03 (11 — the second highest total ever for a Topper). A prominent figure on the school all-time leaders lists for single season appearances (first and third); saves (second, fifth and ninth); and ERA (seventh). He signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels and played eight seasons in the minor leagues (five at the AAA level) for the Angels and the Colorado Rockies. A former WKU softball assistant, Wilhite lives in nearby Franklin, his hometown, where he is the athletics director at Franklin-Simpson High School.

Rick Yeloushan (Swimming, 4 letters, 1971-74)
A member of Coach Bill Powell's first recruiting class in 1970, Yeloushan came to The Hill from Tampa, Fla., and developed into the outstanding Hilltopper swimmer in the early years of the sport on The Hill. He set school records in both the 50 and 100 freestyle on his way to becoming the first Hilltopper to qualify for the NCAA Championships — a feat he achieved in both his junior (1973 — in the 100) and senior (1974 — in the 50) seasons and an accomplishment only eight Toppers managed to duplicate in the next 40-plus years. He was also a part of school record-setting quartets in the 400 individual medley and in the 400 freestyle. The four teams he competed on combined to win 40 of 54 dual meets (74%), finishing as runner-up in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Championships in both 1973 and '74. As a senior, he became the first of just seven Hilltopper swimmers to be honored as The University's Male Athlete-of-the-Year. He was named the Toppers' Most Valuable Swimmer three straight years (1972, '73 and '74), a feat duplicated just four times in later years, two of those by WKU Athletic Hall-of-Famers Steve Crocker and Kicker Vencill. Yeloushan lives in Lutz, Fla.

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