FHS Hall of Fame Class of 2026
“This has become one of the
bigger events we’ve had here,” Farragut athletic director Donald Dodgen said. “The Hall of Fame committee does such an outstanding job. You look back and see their accolades, either as professional athletes or in business, and a majority of them I’ve had through here.”
The 2026 inductees included a swimming state champion, national champion and 10-time All-American; a 2022 first-round draft pick and current NFL free agent; a four-time All-State soccer player-turned-football punter; a two-time All-State centerfielder and state champion; a track and field standout who is now an aerospace engineer; a four-time All-State soccer player who went on to dish passes in the SEC; a three-time track and field state champion; a digital design teacher who has advised countless students; and a custodian who, in the summer of 2013, went beyond the line of duty to aid kids who roamed the FHS campus in need of help.
Oh, and the coaching inductee, perhaps an unofficial headliner of the event? Only the winningest coach in Farragut football history, 204 games to be exact, whose name is inscribed on the football stadium and a street sign leading into the campus he has called home for almost five decades.
“We realize what an honor it is to be selected,” former FHS coach Eddie Courtney said Saturday, speaking for his fellow inductees in the 2026 class. Earlier in the night, Courtney said he has been “blessed to be at Farragut all these years, just because of what it represents, first-class and doing things the right way.”
That certainly summarizes this year’s Hall of Fame class, whose inductions were filled with countless stories, plenty of laughs and even some happy tears too as emcee Erik Gerhardt reflected on their individual and collective impact.
He was not the only speaker, as current student-athletes Ryan McCue, KJ McNealy and Parker Lane took the microphone at separate points in the evening.
Their addresses spoke to the “bright future” principal Dr. John Bartlett said is in store given what he has
witnessed firsthand at FHS. But, it also spoke to the launchpad that this school has provided for each
FHS Hall of Fame inductee in the past 14 years.
“All these men and women are very successful,” Dodgen offered in summary. “When you graduate from Farragut High School, you’re ready to go out in the world. Because when they go out there, they say it’s harder here than it is in college. And that means a lot to us.”
Read more about the individual inductees in our special FHS Hall of Fame section, available in print in the February 11 edition or online.
Pictured: The Farragut High School Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 was inducted on Saturday, Feb. 7, in The Commons at FHS. Back row, from left: Harrison Eldridge, Eddie Courtney, Drew Burnette, Cole Strange, James Thomas and Richard Huff. Front row: Sara Yeager Stokes, Baylee Williams, Katie Green Pinkston, Michelle Brossett and Anna Miller. (Photo submitted)
