The Southern Miss M-Club Alumni Association, in conjunction with the university’s athletic department, announced its six-member 2024 Hall of Fame class on Wednesday.
Luke Johnson, a former Southern Miss football player who served as a radio host for SuperTalk Mississippi’s Eagle Hour after his playing days, is joined in the class by Berlin Ladner (men’s basketball, 1965-68), Cedric Norman (track and field, 2001-04), Kelsea Seymour Weldon (volleyball, 2008-11), Kent Willis (baseball, 1986), and former men’s basketball assistant coach Robert McInnis.
Additionally, 2023 inductee Kendra Reed (women’s basketball, 2005-09) will be officially inducted after missing last year’s banquet when the 2024 class is enshrined on Friday, Nov. 8, in Hattiesburg.
The annual M-Club Alumni Association Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at Southern Miss Oaks with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the program beginning at 6:30 p.m. Ticket information will be announced by the M-Club in the coming weeks.
Learn more about each inductee below with career recaps provided by the M-Club:
Luke Johnson
A three-year letterwinner and starter from 2003-05, Luke Johnson is arguably the Golden Eagles’ greatest punter not named Guy. In his career at Southern Miss, Johnson booted 199 punts for a total of 8,503 yards, an average of 42.7 yards per punt. Earning a spot as one of the Golden Eagles’ captains as a senior in 2005, he averaged 44.9 yards per punt for a total of 2,378 yards over 53 punts. His career high in punts came in 2003 with 79 attempts, as did his career-best in yardage with 3,326 yards.
His name is still listed prominently in the Golden Eagle record books. Johnson ranks second in single-game punting yards (474 yards at North Carolina State, 2005), third for most punts in a season (79, 2003), third for average yards per punt in a season (44.9, 2005), third for average yards per punt over a career (42.7) and fourth for the longest punt in school history (76 yards vs. USF, 2003). His 76-yard punt against USF on Oct. 25, 2003, is tied for the longest in M.M. Roberts Stadium history. His 2003 sophomore campaign saw him set Southern Miss’ bowl game record for punts (8) and punt yards (366).
The Soso, Miss., native earned conference and national laurels for his achievements on and off the field as a senior. His Conference USA-leading 44.9 yards per punt netted him First Team All-C-USA honors on the 2005 team as well as Third Team All-American honors from SI.com. A member of the 2004 AFCA Good Works Team, Johnson was also named as the 2005 recipient of the Woody Hayes NCAA Division I National Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Berlin Ladner
Hailing from Necaise Crossing, Miss., the Hancock North Central High School product came to Southern Miss as a freshman for the 1964-65 season. After making his move to the varsity squad in 1965-66 – Reed Green Coliseum’s inaugural season as home of the Golden Eagles – Ladner helped Coach Lee Floyd’s squad win four more games than the prior season to finish 16-9 overall. The 1967-68 squad finished 19-6 to improve their win totals yet again.
Throughout his three-year career, Ladner amassed 1,006 points, at the time becoming Southern Miss’ ninth all-time leading scorer and 1,000-point club member. He joined the 1,000-point club in the final game of his career in Hattiesburg in a 109-90 victory over Samford on Feb. 21, 1968. Berlin Ladner’s 45 points that night still stand as the program’s most in a single game and were helped by the performance of his brother, fellow Golden Eagle great and M-Club Hall of Fame member, Wendell. Coach Floyd, Wendell, and the entire Southern Miss team aimed to feed Berlin to help him reach 1,000 career points after sitting with 24 points and four fouls at the half.
Berlin Ladner also still holds spots on the program’s charts. In addition to his all-time mark for points in a game, he still ranks second in field goals made in a game (17), field goals attempted in a game (34), and free throws attempted (18). His 193 free throws as a senior are still ranked ninth-most in a single season while his career field goal percentage of 52.3 percent still ranks seventh.
Cedric Norman
A successful member of the Golden Eagle track & field program from 2001-04, Cedric Norman earned three NCAA All-America honors: two in Outdoor and one in Indoor. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native placed third overall at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships as a high jumper and still holds the Southern Miss program record for the best high jump in Outdoor Track & Field history.
His then-record indoor high jump of 7 feet, 3 inches on Feb. 27, 2004, stood for over 15 years before falling in 2019. His outdoor-best mark of 7 feet, six inches on March 6, 2004, still stands as the best mark in program history and is still a record at the Marshall Bell Track & Field Complex.
On the indoor circuit, Norman won gold in the high jump at the 2003 and 2004 Conference USA Indoor Championships, leaping 6 feet, 7 inches, and 7 feet, 3 inches, respectively. He was named a First Team All-C-USA member in the high jump in both seasons and earned an NCAA All-American position in 2004. He was also named Conference USA’s overall Athlete of the Week on Feb. 3, 2004.
Norman enjoyed tremendous success Outdoors as well. He won the 2003 and 2004 Conference USA High Jump Championships and was an All-C-USA athlete for three seasons from 2002-04. In 2002, he earned Third Team honors and swept First Team honors in 2003 and 2004. He was named the Conference’s overall athlete of the week on March 23, 2004, and traveled to the NCAA Championships, where he earned All-American laurels in 2003 and 2004. At the 2003 Championship meet, he placed third in the NCAA with a 7-foot, 4.5-inch jump.
Kelsea Seymour Weldon
Enrolling at Southern Miss in the fall of 2008, Kelsea Seymour (Weldon) arrived in Hattiesburg as a setter for head coach Ricci Luyties. The Long Beach, Calif., native played in all 30 matches as a true freshman – a trend she followed closely for the next three years – making 27 starts to earn the first of four letters for the Golden Eagles. She led the team in assists (780) and averaged 7.22 per set while also leading the squad with 30 service aces.
Seymour, along with the entire Golden Eagle program, enjoyed unprecedented highs in the 2009 campaign as Luyties led Southern Miss to an outright Conference USA regular season title. For her efforts, which included starting in all 32 of Southern Miss’ matches and 1,259 assists, she was named First Team All-C-USA, Conference USA Setter of the Year, and earned AVCA Division I All-American and Midwest All-Region honorable mention honors. In 2011, she once again earned national praise as she was named to her second All-Conference USA First Team and earned First Team All-Midwest Region honors from the AVCA as well as AVCA All-American honorable mention honors. She led the team with 1,272 assists, ranking second in Conference USA with 10.97 per set, and recorded the league’s only triple-double that season with 10 kills, 34 assists, and 13 digs against Memphis.
After joining the 3,000-assist club as a junior, Seymour cruised past the 4,000-assist plateau with 1,324 as a senior in 2011. She finished with 4,635 career assists – the second-most in program history at the time of her graduation. She is also ranked 10th in career digs (1,223) and owns two career triple-doubles as a Golden Eagle after an 11-kill, 58-assist, 14-dig performance against Houston on Nov. 20, 2011. She is the only Golden Eagle to earn three consecutive First Team All-Conference honors and owns 10 Player of the Week awards over her career.
After graduating from Southern Miss in 2012, Seymour began a career as a social studies teacher and volleyball coach at Oak Grove High School. She helped grow interest and sponsorship for the game in the Pine Belt region as the owner and director of Hub City Volleyball Club while helping the Warriors with four district titles. She was named the first head coach of William Carey volleyball in 2016 and was charged with leading the creation of the program for the Lady Crusaders.
Kent Willis
Kent Willis, a native of Columbus, Miss., first arrived in Hattiesburg for the 1985 season after transferring from North Alabama. After sitting out the 1985 season due to NCAA transfer policies, he played his junior season for Southern Miss earning a letter for the 1986 season. He pitched 140.1 innings, recording 16 decisions in 17 starts over 21 appearances for a 9-7 pitching record on the year. The Golden Eagles finished 31-30 that year, pitching the team to the Metro Conference Tournament semifinals to record the first winning season under legendary head coach Hill Denson.
He led the 1986 squad in appearances (16), earned run average (2.89), strikeouts (140) and victories (9). Set the program record for most complete games with 11 on the year. At the end of his Golden Eagle career, he held program records in five season categories: appearances, starts, complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. He also helped set a new program record 31 wins in the 1986 season. Willis was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 1986 MLB Draft, becoming the second African American player to be drafted from Southern Miss. He played six seasons for the Reds, Royals, and Expos organizations.
After his retirement as a full-time player, Willis began his journey as a coach in the Atlanta Braves organization. He spent the next 16 years with the organization, beginning in 1995 as the pitching coach for the Rookie League GCL Braves (1996, 1998) and Danville Braves (1997). From 1999-04, he worked for the Macon and Rome Braves (A) from 1999-04 before joining the Mississippi Braves (AA) for their inaugural season in 2005 as the franchise’s first pitching coach. In 2007, he was named Atlanta’s first Minor League Pitching Coordinator, coordinating the organization’s pitching philosophy throughout the minor leagues.
In 2010, he worked as the pitching coach for the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans and while working summers with Gary Southshore RailCats beginning in 2011. Willis currently works as the head baseball coach at Vicksburg High School
Honorary Inductee: Robert McInnis
A key figure in the legacy of Golden Eagle basketball, Robert McInnis joined M.K. Turk’s staff for the 1981-82 season. The Satartia, Miss., native spent the next 15 seasons alongside Turk, helping the Golden Eagle to 226 of Coach Turk’s program-best 301 wins. He helped guide Southern Miss to two NCAA Tournament appearances and five NIT berths. McInnis’ efforts helped Southern Miss claim its first NCAA Tournament berth in 1990 and the 1987 NIT Championship – the first national basketball title by any Mississippi men’s basketball program.
On the court, McInnis recruited and mentored some of the best Golden Eagles in program history. Eleven current M-Club Hall of Fame members were coached at one point or another by McInnis while at Southern Miss. McInnis had a hand in recruiting many Golden Eagle greats, including Clarence Weatherspoon, Bernard Haslett, Derek Hamilton, Darrin Chancellor, Randolph Keys, Casey Fisher, Bernard Haslett, John White, Curtis Green, Glen Whisby, Daron Jenkins, James Williams, Kenny Siler, and Damien Smith.
Considered by his contemporaries as one of the game’s great teachers, he helped many players elevate their game to earn all-conference and national honors, including four NBA draft picks and a total of five professional signees.
