Class of 2024
Darryl Cummings
Brandon Elliott
LaShawn Merritt
Sugar Rodgers
David Six
Mimi Smith
DARRYL CUMMINGS – Darryl Cummings grew up playing tennis on the courts at Norfolk’s Northside Park and went on to a successful and influential coaching career in Hampton Roads. He coached the Old Dominion University women’s team for 20 years and the ODU men for 17, winning a total of 563 matches for the Monarchs. He also coach at Virginia Wesleyan and at Norfolk State. At ODU, Cummings coached six All-Americans and two players who went on to play in The Championships at Wimbledon. Cummings passed in December 2023.
BRANDON ELLIOTT – has developed a national powerhouse at his alma mater, Virginia Wesleyan. His teams won NCAA Division III titles in 2017, 2018 and 2021, and his 2017 team set an NCAA record with 55 victories. His current career record stands at 622-152-1, with 10 ODAC titles. He has been named the conference’s coach of the year nine times. As a baseball player at Wesleyan, he was a member of two ODAC championship teams, and he won two more league baseball titles as an assistant coach.
LASHAWN MERRITT – Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt ran times in the 200 and 400 meters that remain among the fastest in U.S. history. He won Olympic gold in the 400 in 2008, as well as in the 4×400 relay in 2008 and 2016. He won eight more gold medals at the World Championships between 2005-15. In 2004 he was named U.S. Track & Field’s Youth Athlete of the Year after winning state titles at 100, 200 and 400 at Wilson High School and dominating at the World Junior Championships. He is currently coaching and holding clinics in Hampton Roads and around the nation.
SUGAR RODGERS – Sugar Rodgers’ prep stardom in Suffolk served as a springboard to a standout career in the college and professional ranks. She was a top player at Kings Fork High School, and for her AAU Suffolk Aces team she was named MVP of the 2007 Nike Nationals. At Georgetown University she scored a school-record 2,518 points and was named first-team All-Big East four times. She spent eight years in the WNBA, winning the 2013 league title with the Minnesota Lynx. She is currently an assistant coach for the College of William and Mary.
DAVID SIX – Coach David Six put the Hampton University women’s basketball program on the national map as a MEAC team that competed with and frequently defeated highly regarded opponents from power conferences. He finished his career at Hampton U. with a record of 264-188, including five MEAC tournament titles. Before his college career, Six won 380 games and two state championships at Hampton High School. A Gulf War veteran, Six was honored with the Most Courageous Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in 2018 after coming back from a debilitating stroke.
MIMI SMITH – Field hockey standout Mimi Smith ranks as one of the best players in the history of Old Dominion University’s legendary program. She was a two-time All-American at ODU and won the Honda Award as the nation’s top player in 1999. She led the Monarchs to the NCAA championship in 1998. From 1999-2004, Smith represented the nation in international play as a member of the U.S. national team. As a senior at ODU she was named the CAA’s top defensive player. She is currently an assistant coach at the College of William and Mary.