UK elects 6 new members to athletic Hall of Fame, including several recent stars

The University of Kentucky will induct six new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025. The new group announced Wednesday night includes athletes from baseball, football, softball, tennis and men’s and women’s basketball.

The new Hall of Famers will be inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend Sept. 12-13 in Lexington.

The class of 2025 includes Abbey Cheek-Ramsey (softball), Makayla Epps (women’s basketball), Doug Flynn (baseball, men’s basketball, broadcasting), Sonia Hahn (women’s tennis), Josh Hines-Allen (football) and Karl-Anthony Towns (men’s basketball).

The UK Athletics Hall of Fame was started in 2005 to honor persons whose participation and achievements enriched and strengthened the university’s athletics program. A committee consisting of Hall of Famers, media members, campus representatives and current coaches and administrators elects new inductees each year.

Here is a closer look at each of this year’s six electees:

Abbey Cheek-Ramsey – Known as Abbey Cheek during her playing days from 2016-19, she became the first UK softball player to be named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2019. Also in 2019, she was named National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association National Player of the Year. Cheek-Ramsey currently sits second in UK history in RBI (202), runs scored (189), home runs (61) and slugging percentage (.678) and third in total bases (454). She helped lead UK to three NCAA regional championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Makayla Epps – After leading Marion County to a rare undefeated girls basketball state championship in 2013, Epps embarked on an All-America career at Kentucky that ran through 2017. Epps helped lead UK to a four-year record of 97-38 and advance to four straight NCAA Tournaments then went on to play one season in the WNBA. She ranks sixth in UK history with 1,790 career points and is sixth in career games played (133), sixth in field goals made (668), eighth in assists (408), eighth in free throws made (353) and 10th in scoring average (13.5).

Doug Flynn – The most multi-faceted of this year’s inductees, Flynn played baseball and basketball at UK in the 1970s before going on to an 11-year career in Major League Baseball. He is also being inducted on his merits as a broadcaster. Flynn reached the majors with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and was a member of the 1975-76 “Big Red Machine” that won back-to-back World Series. He also played for the New York Mets, Montreal, Texas and Detroit and won the Gold Glove fielding award for second basemen in 1980. Flynn is also known for setting a major-league record with three triples in one game. Since 2004, he has served as an analyst for television broadcasts of Kentucky baseball and also has called games for the Cincinnati Reds. He won an Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Award for his work on the television show “Kentucky Life.”

Sonia Hahn – Hahn was a two-time singles All-American and a two-time doubles All-American for UK tennis from 1986-89. In 1987, she won the ITA National Indoor Singles championship and the SEC No. 1 singles title. She was an All-SEC performer and played in the NCAA Singles Championship all four years she was at Kentucky. She won the doubles gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games and bronze at the 1987 World University Games. Hahn was co-head oach at Tennessee for 19 seasons and named national co-coach of the Year in 2002. She’s currently the deputy director of athletics at California State University at Northridge.

Josh Hines-Allen – Known as Josh Allen during his time at UK (2015-18), the sack specialist was named national defensive player of the Year as winner of the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Award and Lott Trophy as a senior. That year, he was a unanimous first-team All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He totaled 88 tackles that season, with 21.5 tackles for loss, including 17 quarterback sacks, while helping lead UK to a 10-win season and a victory over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. Hines-Allen set UK’s career record for sacks with 31.5 and tied the career record for fumbles caused with 11. He’s second in UK history in tackles for loss with 41. Hines-Allen was the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NFL draft by Jacksonville and earned a spot on the NFL All-Rookie Team. He has played six seasons with the Jaguars and twice been named to the Pro Bowl.

Karl-Anthony Towns – Towns was a one-and-done performer for UK men’s basketball in 2014-15, helping lead the Wildcats to a 38-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Final Four before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He was the second-leading scorer and leading rebounder and shot-blocker on the first team in NCAA history to start a season 38-0. Towns was named SEC Freshman of the Year and was a consensus second-team All-American in helping lead the Cats to SEC regular season and tournament championships. His 10-year NBA career has included five All-Star Game appearances, three All-NBA Team honors and the 2016 Rookie of the Year award.