Five individuals and one team will be honored with their induction into the Class of 2019 of the Athletics Hall of Fame on April 5 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

ABAC Athletics Director Alan Kramer said the 2019 class includes the 1968-69 men’s basketball team, former softball standout Jenny McCarthy, former tennis star Lisa English, former football player and longtime high school coach Sidney White, former basketball player and college basketball coach Alfred Barney, and former baseball player and outstanding high school coach Terry Mixon.

“This group takes us all the way back to the football years of the Georgia State College for Men,” Kramer said.  “From the ABAC tennis courts to the baseball field, it’s a great group of inductees.  I look forward to hearing stories from their ABAC playing days.”

Tickets to the 6 p.m. dinner on April 5 in ABAC’s Gressette Gym are $40 per person.  Tickets can be purchased from the ABAC Athletics Office at (229) 391-4930. The deadline to purchase tickets is March 27.  There will be no tickets sold at the event.

English, originally from South Africa, was the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Most Valuable Player in 1995 and 1996 when she played for Kramer’s Golden Fillies.  She was an NJCAA All-America selection in 1995 and an International Tennis Association (ITA) All-America selection in 1995 and 1996.  English was also named to the All-Region team both years.  When she continued her career at Mercer University, English was named the Most Valuable Player of the team during both her junior and senior seasons.  She was also named an ITA All-American Scholar Athlete in 1998.

A Canadian, McCarthy was the first international player to play softball for the Golden Fillies.  She led Coach Donna Campbell’s team to Georgia Junior College Athletic Association (GJCAA) state fast-pitch titles in 1997 and 1998 when she was named the GJCAA Most Valuable Player both years.  She was also named to the All-Region team and the All-Tournament team in 1997 and 1998.  In 1998, McCarthy led ABAC to its first District C Championship and its first trip ever to the National Fastpitch Softball Tournament.  She won over 30 games as the ABAC pitcher and hit over .300 during both her freshman and sophomore seasons.

A native of Pelham, Barney played basketball for the Golden Stallions from 1975-77. He was named the Most Valuable Player during his sophomore season.  He earned a scholarship to Austin Peay State University where he was named the MVP of the team during his senior year.  During his coaching career, he was the head coach at Pelham High School, Tuskegee University and Dekalb College, later renamed Georgia Perimeter.  At Georgia Perimeter, he was named NJCAA Region XVII Coach of the Year, Naismith Junior College Coach of the Year, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club Coach of the Year.  His Georgia Perimeter teams made six appearances in the national tournament, including a Final Four berth in 2003.

Coach Vann Brackin’s 1968-69 Golden Stallions compiled a record of 25-5 and won the Southern Conference of the GJCAA with a perfect 12-0 mark.  The Stallions were the first intercollegiate athletics team at ABAC with African-American players, Albert Lewis and David Adams.  Other team members included Leslie Moore, Ashley DeLoach, Harold Adkins, Julian Deaton, Mark Hall, Jerry Johnston, Odell Pack, Dennis McSwain, Carlos McSwain, Harley Stewart, and Buddy Whitley. The team averaged 93 points a game and scored over 100 points nine times.  ABAC set a single game scoring record with a 140-64 win over Jones Junior College on Nov. 20, 1968. ABAC lost only one home game all year, a 93-77 decision to Gardner Webb, led by its 7-foot-2 center Artis Gilmore.   Nine players from the team signed with senior colleges.

Originally from Sylvester, White passed away at the age of 90 in 1999.  He played football for the Georgia State College for Men Rams who defeated the University of Miami in 1931 and 1932.  In 1931, he scored a total of eight touchdowns against Troy, Fort Benning, Oglethorpe, Florida’s freshman squad, and Parris Island. White’s coaching resume includes a stint at Warner Robins where he led the girls’ basketball team to the state tournament 17 straight years including a state title in 1965, the school’s first state championship in any sport.  White also coached in Wrightsville, McRae, Americus, and Worth County.

A former Most Valuable Player in baseball and basketball at Suwannee High School in Live Oak, Fla., Mixon was a standout player for Coach Tom Moody’s Golden Stallions when he hit .321 in 1975 and .359 in 1976.  He was named All-Conference and All-State in 1976.  As the starting shortstop, Mixon led the 1975 Stallions to the state championship.  After completing his ABAC career, Mixon transferred to Georgia Southern where he was selected to the All-South Baseball Team and the Coaches Association Team during his senior year.  He returned to Live Oak in 1979 and has served as head coach for varsity baseball, softball, bowling, and golf teams.  Mixon was inducted into the Suwannee High School Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Athletics Hall of Fame dinner is a part of the 2019 ABAC Homecoming celebration.