BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Athletics Department officially inducted the 2024 class of the Samford Athletics Hall of Fame in ceremonies held on campus Saturday evening.
 
The 2024 class, the seventh in the Hall of Fame's history, consists of the 2012 baseball team, football's Devlin Hodges, track and field's Karisa Nelson, men's basketball's Reed Rawlings, baseball's John Russell and men's basketball Jimmy Tillette.
 
Rawlings said the first thing that came to mind when he found out he was being inducted into the Hall of Fame was his teammates.
 
"The first feeling is just all of the memories that come back and wanting to share those memories with everybody," Rawlings said. "As most athletes will tell you, anytime you think of something that has to do with your experience here at Samford on the court or on the field, it's about all of the guys you got to share it with."
 
Nelson is one of the youngest inductees, having graduated from Samford in 2019. She said she was honored when she learned of her induction but was surprised it came so soon after her graduation.
 
"That was incredible, especially because I've only been out of school for about five years now and I just didn't expect it to come so soon," Nelson said. "I just couldn't stop smiling. Samford's always been a really special place for me. So, I'm just honored."
 
The evening began with a reception in the Samford Athletics Hall of Fame, which is located on the third floor of the Pete Hanna Center. The reception was followed by the induction ceremony and dinner, held in the Regions Room in Cooney Hall in the Brock School of Business.
 
Following dinner, Samford President Dr. Beck A. Taylor spoke, followed by remarks from Director of Athletics Martin Newton. Prior to the inductions, the John C. Pittman Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mont Hogewood.
 
The six inductions were then held. An induction video was played for each one, followed by a speech. Hodges was unable to attend, so he sent in a video of his acceptance speech. After Hodges' video, Nelson spoke, followed by Rawlings. Russell's son, Russ spoke on his behalf, and Tillette's wife, Stephanie spoke in his place. The 2012 baseball team's speech was given by team members Josh Martin and Brandon Miller.
 
A short bio and induction video for each of the 2024 induction class members is below.
 
2012 BASEBALL TEAM
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
The 2012 Samford baseball team set a school record for wins with 41, won the program's first Southern Conference Tournament championship and earned Samford's first NCAA Baseball Tournament bid. During the regular season, the team defeated third-ranked Florida, 12-7, which is the highest-ranked team to fall to Samford in program history. In the SoCon Tournament, the Bulldogs earned a dramatic, 9-6, 10-inning win over Georgia Southern to win the title. The team was sent to Tallahassee, Fla., as a No. 3 seed for its NCAA Regional, where the Bulldogs took down SEC Tournament champion and 17^th-ranked Mississippi State, 5-0. After a loss to host and third-ranked Florida State, Samford eliminated Mississippi State, 3-2, to reach the finals of the Regional. Following the season, a program-record seven players from the team were selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.
 

 
DEVLIN HODGES
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
Devlin Hodges left Samford as the most decorated football player in program history. He was a three-time Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, three-time All-American and he won the 2018 Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top offensive player in the nation at the FCS level. Hodges set school records for single season passing yards in 2016 and again in 2018. During his senior season, he led the nation in passing yards per game (389.4), total passing yards (4,283) and total offense per game (417.8). For his career, Hodges became the all-time leader in career passing yards in FCS history. His 14,584 career passing yards broke the old FCS national record of 14,496, set by Steve McNair of Alcorn State. Following his Samford career, Hodges was a member of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 and 2020, starting six games. He also spent time with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL and the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL.
 

 
KARISA NELSON
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
Karisa Nelson became Samford's first NCAA Division I national champion when she won the title in the indoor mile in 2017. She won the championship with a school-record time of 4:31.24. In the spring of 2018, she finished third in the nation in the outdoor 1,500 meters, earning first team All-America honors. As a senior in 2019, she competed again in the indoor mile at the NCAA Championships, placing second in the nation, narrowly missing a second national title, and earning another first team All-America nod. Nelson holds school indoor records in the 800-meter run, the mile run and the 3,000-meter run. She also holds outdoor school marks in the 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run and the mile run. Additionally, Nelson holds the Southern Conference Championships record in the indoor mile run and the outdoor 1,500-meter run. After leaving Samford, Nelson has run professionally for Brooks and later for Atalanta NYC.
 

 
REED RAWLINGS
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
Reed Rawlings played basketball at Samford from 1996 to 2000. He helped lead the program to a pair of Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) championships and NCAA Tournament bids. He currently ranks ninth in school history in career scoring with 1,493 points in his Samford career. Rawlings scored 496 points in his junior season in 1998-99, the sixth-highest single-season total in school history. Following that season, he was named first team All-TAAC and he was honored as the TAAC Player of the Year after leading the team to the program's first TAAC title and NCAA Tournament bid. He then tallied 466 points in his senior campaign, the 13th-highest mark in school history, and the team reached a second-straight NCAA Tournament. In the 2000 TAAC Tournament championship game, Rawlings led the team with 21 points.
 

 
JOHN RUSSELL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
John Russell, a 2008 inductee in the Samford Baseball Hall of Fame, played baseball for the Bulldogs from 1958 to 1961. He set a school record for wins in a season, posting a 12-2 record as a senior in 1961. As a sophomore in 1959, he helped lead the team to a 17-4 record. For his Samford career, Russell won 25 games, posting a record of 25-8, and he finished with a career ERA of 1.90. After finishing at Samford, Russell signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 1961. He played three seasons in the Dodgers' minor league system, starting with their team in the Florida State League. In all the years since he finished at Samford, Russell has been a consistent supporter of the Samford baseball program.
 

 
JIMMY TILLETTE
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2024
Jimmy Tillette was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from 1997 to 2012. He led the program to back-to-back Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament bids in 1999 and 2000. In his years in charge of the Samford program, Tillette won a school-record 229 games. His 1998-99 team won a school-record 24 games, going 24-6, winning the TAAC regular season and TAAC Tournament titles and earning the program's first NCAA Tournament bid. For his efforts, Tillette was named the 1999 TAAC Coach of the Year. The following season, the team went 21-11, winning the TAAC Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament for a second-straight year. The 1999-2000 team also claimed impressive wins over Alabama and St. John's. Tillette's 2005-06 team posted a record of 20-11, reaching the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 

 
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