WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2025.
The inductees are chosen from a list of athletes, coaches, and other personnel who have had a significant impact on athletics in the Wilmington area.
Louise McColl visited the WECT studio to discuss this year’s new inductees and reception.
The ceremony will be held on May 18 to honor Scott Braswell, Kimberly Crabbe, Tommy Craig, David Miller, and Jerry Wainwright.
Scott Braswell
Scott Braswell was born in Tampa, Florida, raised in Charlotte, and moved to Wilmington in June 1997. He was the Head Coach at Hoggard High School from 1997 to 2015 and flipped the struggling program by winning 12 conference championships, three final four appearances, and winning the State Championship in 2007.
He finished his 28-year head coaching career with a 220-94 record and was the athletic director at Hoggard High School from 2008 to 2016.
Kim Crabbe
Kim Crabbe is the first African American woman called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team. She pioneered her way into the team in 1986.
She began her career with the Reston Rowdies and continued to move up the ranks before she went on to play professionally in the W-League, the first Women’s Olympic Festivals, in National Cups, and various amateur teams.
She joined the U.S. Women’s National Team in 1994 to assemble the Greensboro Dynamo FC women’s team.
Tommy Craig
A graduate of New Hanover High School in New Hanover High School, he went on to the Cincinnati Reds for one season in 1978, and moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays organization in Kinston. Craig was 29 when he hit the major leagues and went on to spend 25 years in the system, where the Blue Jays won 5 AL East titles, 2 American League titles, and back-to-back World Championships in 1992 and 1993.
Under Craig’s direction, the Blue Jays led all of Major League Baseball with the least amount of man-hours lost due to injuries for nine consecutive seasons.
He spent 15 years in the major leagues as the Blue Jays’ Head Athletic Trainer and Rehab Coordinator before he moved to the Milwaukee Brewers for ten years in player development until 2016. He has also worked with the Chinese National Women’s fast pitch softball team for one season, traveling worldwide to China, Australia, and Japan.
He was named the 1996 recipient of the Dr James Andrews Award for Excellence in Sports Medicine and was recently inducted into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
David Miller
David Miler attended Woodruff High School in Spartanburg County, where he lettered in four sports, winning two state championships in baseball for two consecutive years.
He then received a baseball scholarship to Wilmington Junior College. Miller’s team won the National Junior College Championship in 1961 and finished second nationally in 1962.
Miller attended Woodruff High School in Spartanburg County, SC, and in his junior and senior years, he lettered in four sports. He played shortstop on the baseball teams that won the state championships for two consecutive years.
He earned his M.Ed. at UNC Chapel Hill and was offered a position to teach and coach at Wilmington College, which later became the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
During his 40-year career at UNCW, he served as:
- Assistant baseball coach
- Department chair
- Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
- Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Enrollment Manager
- Director of Summer School
He is a member of the Woodruff High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jerry Wainwright
Wainwright served as head coach at UNCW and compiled a 136-103 record in eight seasons, and led the Seahawks to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2002 and to the NIT Tournament in 1998 and 2001.
He directed the program to its first-ever post-season berth, first 20-win season (1998), and the first win in the NCAA Tournament, a 93-89 triumph over the University of Southern California in 2002.
Wainwright’s teams captured 3 regular season CAA titles and 2 CAA Tournament crowns, and the Seahawks averaged 17 wins per season. He was named the CAA Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2001.
In 2023, Jerry was recognized as the recipient of the Gene Bartow Award, which is presented annually to a current or former coach for his contributions to the game.
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