Since its opening in 1999, 10 individuals with ties to Wayland Baptist basketball, and the 1953-58 Flying Queens teams, have been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.
Legendary head coach Harley Redin was a member of the WBHOF’s inaugural class in 1999. Redin led the Flying Queens to more wins than any women’s team in collegiate history, posting a record of 431-66 and winning six Amateur Athletic Union national championships, finishing second seven times, third three times, and fifth once. Redin’s teams won the first 76 games he coached, completing WBU’s collegiate record 131-game win streak.
During Redin’s career, 36 Wayland athletes combined to win 65 All-America recognitions, and 32 women were selected to participate on U.S. national teams in international competition.
A member of the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame and multiple-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Redin was the 1992 recipient of the Josten’s Service Award, given by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for lifetime service to the sport. He is also a member of the board of directors of the WBHOF and is still an avid supporter of the Flying Queens and Pioneers.
Redin’s successor, Dean Weese, was enshrined in 2000, and former player and coach and eventual NCAA national championship coach at Texas Tech, Marsha Sharp, was inducted in 2003. Weese coached the Queens from 1973-79, compiling two AAU championships, one runner-up finish and three NWIT titles. Sharp played for the Queen Bees from 1970-72 and was their coach from 1972-74.
Katherine Washington, Patsy Neal, Jill Rankin Schneider, Lometa Odom and Carolyn Bush Roddy join Sharp as former athletes at Wayland to be inducted into the WBHF. Washington was inducted in 2000 with Coach Weese, and Neal joined Sharp at the 2003 ceremony. Schneider was in the class of 2008, followed by Odom who joined her fellow alumni in 2011 then Bush Roddy in 2019. Former Pioneer Joe Lombard, longtime girls basketball coach at Canyon High School, was enshrined in 2015.
The Flying Queens teams from 1953-58 were inducted as Trailblazers of the Game in 2013 for their still-standing record of 131-consecutive wins.
Claude Hutcherson, an avid supporter of the Flying Queens, was inducted into the WBHOF in 2003. Hutcherson provided the Queens with Beechcraft Bonanza airplanes to transport the team to out-of-town games and piloted one of the aircraft as well. During his 25-plus year association with the Flying Queens, Wayland compiled a 712-106 worksheet, a mark which included a collegiate record of 131 consecutive victories, as well as 10 AAU national championships and 10 runner-up finishes.
List of Inductees:
1999: Harley Redin, coach, 1955-73
2000: Katherine Washington, player, 1957-58, 58-59, 59-60
2000: Dean Weese, coach, 1973-79
2003: Claude Hutcherson, sponsor, 1950-77
2003: Patsy Neal, player, 1956-57, 57-58, 58-59, 59-60
2003: Marsha Sharp, Queen Bees player 1970-71, 71-72; Queen Bees coach 72-73, 73-74
2008: Jill Rankin Schneider, player, 1976-77, 77-78, 78-79
2011: Lometa Odom, player, 1952-53, 53-54, 54-55, 55-56
2013: 1953-58 teams honored as
Trailblazers of the Game for winning 131 consecutive games.
2015: Joe Lombard, coach (former Pioneer player, 1972-73, 73-74, 74-75)
2019: Carolyn Bush Roddy, player, 1973-74, 74-75
