Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame adds 11 to Class of 2026

Guilford County’s sports pipeline was on display Thursday as the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame unveiled its Class of 2026, adding 11 members across six sports at First Horizon Coliseum in a ceremony sponsored by the Greensboro Sports Foundation. The group includes 10 laureates and one Legend, with honorees tied to football, basketball, softball, soccer, tennis and lacrosse, a spread that reflects how deeply the county’s athletic identity runs through its high schools and college programs.

The class will be inducted Monday, Sept. 14, at First Horizon Coliseum, where the reception is set for 5:30 p.m. in Ovations Lounge and the banquet for 6:15 p.m. on the arena floor. Tickets are $100 each, tables of 10 are $950, and tickets and table order forms go on sale June 1 through the hall’s website. The hall says it was established in 2004 and inducted its first class in 2005, making this its 21st class.

Among the most familiar names is Eric Ebron, a Smith High School alum who became a first-team All-ACC tight end at North Carolina. UNC says Ebron set a school record for tight ends with 625 receiving yards in 2012, went on to become a first-round NFL draft pick and later made the Pro Bowl in 2018. His pro career included 33 touchdowns over eight NFL seasons, giving Guilford County another marquee name in the line from local schools to the national stage.

The class also spotlights two Page High School products who shaped women’s basketball and tennis in different eras. Paris Kea finished her UNC career as the program’s second all-time scoring average leader at 18.0 points per game and was the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. Catherine Newman was a four-time Metro 4-A tennis player of the year at Page, went undefeated in her junior and senior seasons and won the 2003 individual state title.

Rosie Arnold’s resume traces the same path from county gym to wider stages. At Southwest Guilford, she finished with 1,709 points, 714 assists and 407 steals, then played four seasons at Georgia Southern before continuing professionally in France. Volire Tisdale Brown, from Dudley and NC State, was first-team All-ACC in 1987 and ACC Player of the Year in 1988. The rest of the class includes Bill Chambers, Joe Franks, Kevin Gehsmann, Jonathan McKee, Denise Ford Shipman and Stacy Weaver, with Franks recognized as a longtime Grimsley coach, athletic trainer and educator and Gehsmann as a Western Guilford football and lacrosse standout who later played at Duke.

The hall also recognized two $1,000 scholarships, awarded to Emily Fisher of Ragsdale and Collin Auer of Western Guilford, a reminder that Guilford County’s sports story depends not only on its stars, but on the next generation trying to follow them. That future now intersects with public investment too: Greensboro approved $29.8 million in limited obligation bonds in March, including about $21 million for First Horizon Coliseum improvements, tying the county’s athletic legacy to the facilities that will carry it forward.