RALEIGH, N.C.—The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce its 2026 induction class. The new members, listed alphabetically, are Chip Beck, Heather Bergsma, Louis Breeden, Leonard Hamilton, Tyler Hansbrough, Richard Huntley, John Isner, Norvell Lee, Eddie Pope, Kelvin Sampson, and Jerry Winterton.
The group of 11 will be enshrined during the 62nd annual induction celebration on the evening of Friday, May 1, at the Sheraton at Four Seasons Convention Center in Greensboro, starting at 5 p.m. Their induction will bring the total number of Hall of Fame members to 433. Ticket information will be released at a later date.
“This class truly represents the best of the best in North Carolina sports,” said Rick Webb, president of the Hall of Fame. “It reflects the incredible diversity of excellence across high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic competition. Through these 11 inductees, we continue our mission to honor the men and women whose achievements and leadership have shaped — and continue to shape — the rich sports legacy of our state.”
A brief biography of each 2026 inductee follows. (Lee is being inducted posthumously.)
Chip Beck: Beck is a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR who played on three Ryder Cup teams, posting a 6-2-1 record. The Fayetteville native shot the second 59 in TOUR history during the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational. His best season was in 1988 when he won twice, earned the Vardon Trophy, and finished second to Curtis Strange on the money list. A three-time All-America at Georgia, Beck spent 40 weeks ranked among the top 10 players in the world.
Heather Bergsma: The High Point native started her athletic career as an in-line skater. Within two months of switching to ice, she was on the World Cup circuit. Bergsma competed in three Olympics, earning a bronze medal in team pursuit at the 2018 Winter Games. In addition, Bergsma won 88 World Cup speed skating medals, including 34 gold, and was a four-time world champion in her specialty, the 1,000 meters. She also won the world title in the 1,500 meters in 2017. She held four world records during her career.
Louis Breeden: The Hamlet native was a standout at North Carolina Central, where he led the team in interceptions three straight seasons. He was drafted by Cincinnati in the seventh round in 1977 and played 10 years for the Bengals, starting 115 games. Breeden was a first-team All-Pro selection in 1982. He had 33 career interceptions that he returned for 558 yards – including one pick that he took 102 yards for a touchdown. He also had three fumble recoveries and four sacks. He is a member of the NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Leonard Hamilton: The Gastonia native is the winningest basketball coach in Florida State history with a record of 460-296. He ranks fifth all-time in victories in the ACC and is one of only four coaches in the league with 200 or more regular-season wins. During his 23 seasons at the helm, the Seminoles advanced to the postseason 17 times, including a run of nine straight from 2006-2014. He was also the head coach at Oklahoma State and the University of Miami, and for the NBA’s Washington Wizards. Hamilton is the only person to earn Coach of the Year honors multiple times in both the ACC and Big East. He was a three-time national coach of the year, and his teams at Oklahoma State, Miami, and FSU had a graduation rate of more than 97 percent.
Tyler Hansbrough: Among the greatest players in UNC’s storied history, Hansbrough was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. The 6-foot-9 power forward is the ACC’s leading scorer with 2,872 points and holds the NCAA career record for made free throws with 982. Hansbrough, a Missouri native who has lived in Chapel Hill since 2009, also owns the ACC record for career 20-point games of 78, eight more than the next best player, Duke’s J.J. Redick. In 2008, Hansbrough was the unanimous National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Male Athlete of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and NCAA East Regional Player of the Year. He is the only player in ACC history to earn first-team All-America and first-team All-ACC honors four times. He played seven seasons in the NBA, mostly with Indiana.
Richard Huntley: Huntley rushed for a phenomenal 6,286 yards at Winston-Salem State University, a total that ranks first all-time in the CIAA and 12th in NCAA Division II. The Monroe native scored 57 rushing touchdowns, which is 16 more than any other player in CIAA history, and he also holds the league’s career mark in scoring with 368 points. He ranked first nationally in rushing yards per game (188.9) as a senior and earned first-team Division II All-America honors. Atlanta picked him in the fourth round of the 1996 draft, and he went on to play six years in the NFL.
John Isner: The 6-foot-10 Greensboro native had a powerful serve that produced an ATP-leading 14,411 career aces and prompted John McEnroe to call him the “best server ever.” He was the top-ranked American tennis player for eight years and ranked among the top 20 in the world for 10 straight seasons. Isner finished his career with 16 titles and more than $22 million in earnings. He won the longest match in tennis history – beating France’s Nicolas Mahut in 11 hours and 5 minutes in a match played over three days at Wimbledon in 2010. A 2012 Olympian, he played in 17 straight U.S. Opens and retired after losing a five-set super tiebreaker in the second round at Flushing Meadows in 2023.
Norvell Lee: A Smithfield native, Lee is best-known for coaching basketball at Goldsboro High School, where he compiled a record of 455-133 in 26 seasons. His Goldsboro teams won 19 conference titles and played for the 1983 state 4-A championship, losing to Greensboro Page. Prior to coming to Goldsboro, Lee coached at three segregated high schools, winning seven conference championships and reaching the state title game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Conference in 1968. Lee, who was inducted into the NCSHAA Hall of Fame in 2020, left the high school ranks in 1994 to become the head coach at St. Augustine’s College, leading the Falcons to their first-ever CIAA Tournament championship three years later. Lee died five months after that title run when he suffered a heart attack.
Eddie Pope: Pope is one of the most decorated soccer players in the history of the state. A High Point native, he played soccer and football at Southwest Guilford High School – once kicking a career-best 48-yard field goal – before concentrating on soccer at the University of North Carolina, where he was a two-time first-team All-ACC performer in 1994 and ’95 and first team All-America in 1994. In 1996, Pope was the No. 2 pick overall by DC United in the MLS Draft, scoring the game-winner in OT as United beat the LA Galaxy for the first MLS Cup title. He was the 1997 MLS Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time MLS All-Star. Pope currently works as the Sporting Director for the MLS Next Carolina Core in his hometown.
Kelvin Sampson: The first Native American elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Laurinburg native currently is the head coach at the University of Houston. A year ago, he led the Cougars to a school-record 35 wins, a No. 2 final national ranking, and the Big 12 regular-season (19-1) and tournament championships. He has a winning percentage of more than 78 percent in 11 seasons at Houston, taking the Cougars to five Sweet 16s and two Final Fours. Sampson had 10 straight 20-win seasons at Oklahoma and reached the 2002 Final Four. He is one of 15 coaches to lead four or more schools into the NCAA Tournament and one of just 16 to lead two different colleges to the Final Four.
Jerry Winterton: The long-time Cary High School wrestling coach is one of just eight coaches from the state in the National Federation of High Schools Hall of Fame. His teams won 11 state titles and eight dual team championships. The Imps were unbeaten in regular-season dual meets in 27 of his 29 years at the helm. Cary’s record during his tenure was 620-16 (.975), including a 540-3 (.994) mark in regular-season matches. Winterton was the 2007 NHSCA National Coach of the Year and the 2009 NWCA National Coach of the Year. Mat News selected him as N.C.’s top coach 10 times.
Source: https://ncshof.org/2026/01/the-north-carolina-sports-hall-of-fame-reveals-class-of-2026/
