Georgia Sports Hall of Fame announces class of 2024

The 68th Annual Induction Ceremony will be held the weekend of Friday February 23, and Saturday Feburary 24.

September 1, 2023

Clayton Poulnott,

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – On Friday, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame announced its newest inductees.

Here is the class on 2024:

Sharif Abdur-Rahim — Sharif Abdur-Rahim led Joseph Wheeler High School to a state title in 1994 and was named “Mr. Georgia Basketball”. Sharif played one season of college basketball at UC Berkeley, being named Pac-10 Player of the Year en route to entering the 1996 NBA Draft, where he was selected third overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. Sharif went on to play for the Atlanta Hawks in 2001 and was selected to the All-Star Game in 2002. Sharif won gold with Team USA in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His career field goal percentage was .472, with 18.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Sharif is the current president of the NBA G League and is active in community outreach in Atlanta.
Eric Berry – Born in Fairburn, Georgia, Eric Berry played both football and ran track at Creekside High School, but ultimately decided to play collegiate football at the University of Tennessee. Eric was a two-time first-team All-SEC and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. He also received the Jim Thorpe Award in 2009 as the best college defensive back in the nation. Eric was drafted fifth overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, was named first-team All-Pro three times and was honored as the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2015 after successfully treating Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Eric was named to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team at safety.
Cris Carpenter –Carpenter was All-State AAA in baseball, football, and basketball in high school and named Georgia’s High School Athlete of the year in 1984, before setting records as a punter for UGA. He also was a relief pitcher for the Dawgs baseball team, being named All-American and All-SEC, as well as being named a UGA SEC Baseball Legend in 2016. He remains 4th in career punting average as a Georgia punter and fifth-all time at UGA in career wins as a pitcher. After being drafted in the first round of the 1987 MLB, Cris went to the St. Louis Cardinals where he spent five seasons. He spent an additional 4 seasons between Florida, Texas, and Milwaukee before retiring.
Thomas Davis, Sr. – He was a four-sport athlete at Randolph-Clay High School in Cuthbert. He accepted a scholarship to play collegiate football for UGA, where he played linebacker and defensive back, which earned him a consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC in 2004. Thomas was drafted 14th pick overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent 14 seasons playing linebacker with the Panthers and is the only player to overcome three ACL tears. Thomas was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, as well as a first-team All-Pro in 2015. Thomas has also been acknowledged for his off-the-field contributions by being awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2014 and the Bart Starr Award in 2016
Claude Felton – The Savannah native has served the Georgia Athletic Association since 1979 in positions including Sr. Associate Athletic Director, Associate Athletic Director, and Sports Communications Director, among others. He has served as media coordinator in 17 NCAA national champion events and was the chairman of the Ethics Committee of the College Sports Information Directors of America from 1985-91 receiving the organizations Arch Ward Award in 2004. Regarded as the “best of the best” by his peers, Claude has won myriad of awards during his career, including The Football Writers Association of America’s prestigious Bert McGrane Award. Claude was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, and currently serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Communications at UGA.
Paul Johnson – Johnson’s coaching career began at Georgia Southern in 1983 under legendary head coach Erk Russell. There, he was offensive coordinator for the Eagles during their NCAA I-AA (now FCS) Championships in 1985 and 1986. He left there in 1987 to be the offensive coordinator for the University of Hawaii. He then took became the offensive coordinatorat Navy in 1995. Two years later in 1997, Paul returned to Statesboro, as the head coach. He led the Eagles to five SoCon titles and two NCAA I-AA championships in 1999 and 2000. He returned to Navy from 2002-2007, but left to coach Georgia Tech in 2008. Johnson finished his career after 10 seasons with the Yellow Jackets. He was awarded the Eddie Robinson Award in 1998 as the nation’s top coach in I-AA, and was also a Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year recipient in 2004. Paul was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Brian McCann – A top-ranked high school baseball catcher from Duluth High, McCann was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 2002. He then made his debut with the in 2005. During next nine seasons, McCann made seven All-Star Game appearances and earned five Silver Slugger honors. He was named All-Star MVP in 2010. From 2014 to 2016, Brian played for the New York Yankees, where he was honored with a sixth Silver Slugger in 2015. He then joined the Houston Astros in 2017 and won a World Series. Brian returned to the Braves for a final season in 2019. His 15-year-long career stats were a .262 batting average, 1018 RBIs, 282 home runs, a .337 on-base percentage, a .993 fielding percentage, and 12048 putouts.
Wendy White-Prausa – A dominating junior tennis player in the state of Georgia, earned a number one ranking in the 16 and under and 18 and under categories, as well as a number one Southern ranking, and a number eight national ranking in the 18 and unders. White-Prausa also won or was a finalist in over 30 junior and amateur tournaments between 1977 and 1978. She was named Georgia Player of the Year in 1978, and played college tennis at Rollins College. She won the Broderick Award (now Honda Sports Award) in tennis as the nation’s best collegiate female athlete. Wendy turned pro and played on the WTA tour from 1978 to 1990. She played all of the grand slams and was ranked in the top 100 in singles play for 12 straight years, earning her highest ranking of 19 in 1982. Wendy was inducted in the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001.

The 68th Annual Induction Ceremony will be held the weekend of Friday February 23, and Saturday Feburary 24. On Friday, the River North Country Club will be host the GSHF Golf Classic. The annual Jacket Ceremony will be held at the Hall.

On Saturday, the annual FanFest Autograph session will be held at the Hall. It’s open to the public and free of charge. That will be followed by the 68th Annual Induction Ceremony held at the historic Macon City Auditorium.