UofL sees 10 football players selected in NFL draft
The University of Louisville football program made an impact on the 2015 National Football League Draft, as NFL teams selected a school-record 10 players during the three-day event in Chicago. The 10 selections comprised the second-most total of any program, finishing behind ACC conference-mate Florida State, which totaled 11 picks.
THE PLAYERS DRAFTED INCLUDE
WIDE RECEIVER DEVANTE PARKER 14th overall pick in 1st round, Miami Dolphins
OFFENSIVE TACKLE JAMON BROWN 72nd pick in 3rd round, St. Louis Rams
OFFENSIVE GUARD JOHN MILLER 81st pick in 3rd round, Buffalo Bills
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER LORENZO MAULDIN 82nd pick in 3rd round, New York Jets
SAFETY JAMES SAMPLE 104th pick in 4th round, Jacksonville Jaguars
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER DEIONTREZ MOUNT 177th pick in 6th round, Tennessee Titans
CORNERBACK CHARLES GAINES 189th pick in 6th round, Cleveland Browns
DEFENSIVE END B.J. DUBOSE 193rd pick in 6th round, Minnesota Vikings
SAFETY GEROD HOLLIMAN 239th pick in 7th round, Pittsburgh Steelers
TIGHT END GERALD CHRISTIAN 256th pick in 7th round, Arizona Cardinals
Louisville Athletics’ Kenny Klein named to Hall of Fame
Kenny Klein, senior associate athletic director and sports information director at the University of Louisville, has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to the field of college athletic communications.
In his 32nd year on the staff at UofL, Klein was inducted when the organization held its 58th annual national convention June 14–17 at the World Marriott Center in Orlando, Florida.
CoSIDA is comprised of more than 3,100 intercollegiate athletic communications and media relations professionals from colleges, universities and athletic conferences at all divisions of competition in the United States and Canada.
When Klein joined the Cardinals’ staff in August of 1983, he was the youngest SID at an NCAA Division I football institution at age 23.
Klein worked nearly two seasons as SID at Morehead State, after spending four years as an undergraduate and graduate assistant at Murray State, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1981.
He received the 2012 Katha Quinn Award, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in recognition for providing outstanding service to the media covering college basketball.
Klein has coordinated the computerized statistics operation for the past 30 NCAA Final Fours.
He served as the media coordinator for the 1987 USA Pan American Games men’s basketball team, and annually assists in media operations for the Kentucky Derby.
Acting as the local media center committee chairman for the 1996, 2000 and 2014 PGA Championships in Louisville, Klein served in a similar capacity for the 2008 Ryder Cup and 2004 and 2011 Senior PGA Championships.
Klein, who grew up in Southside, Tennessee, is married to the former Donna Graham. Klein has two sons: Alex, married in July 2014 to Beth, and Brady, who will be a sophomore in the fall at UofL.
Swimmer named ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year
Junior Kelsi Worrell earned the title 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and headlines the 2015 All-ACC Academic Women’s Swimming & Diving Team, as announced in late April. Her teammates Abigail Chin, Andrea Cottrell, Andrea Kneppers and Emily Stalmack join Worrell on the All-ACC Academic Women’s Swimming and Diving team.
An exercise science major from Mt. Holly, New Jersey, Worrell captured two individual national championships in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly at the 2015 NCAA Championships, as she set an American, NCAA and U.S. Open record with her 100-yard butterfly swim. In total, Worrell earned six All-America accolades at the NCAAs and grabbed six All-ACC honors, including two gold medals, at the 2015 ACC Championships.
TO DATE, WORRELL’S SUPERLATIVE PERFORMANCES INCLUDE
- Fastest female swimmer in 100-yard butterfly
- First female swimmer to break the 50-second barrier in 100-yard butterfly
- First female swimmer to break 22 seconds in the butterfly leg of the medley relay
Pearsall’s championship pedigree
On March 14, a 5-0 win over Virginia marked the 600th in the 16-year history of University of Louisville softball, as well as the 600th win at UofL for Head Coach Sandy Pearsall, the only coach in program history.
It would seem like an achievement that would be difficult to top in a calendar year, but Pearsall already had.
On February 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Pearsall’s prized Leonberger, Summit, won “Best of Opposite” at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show — the College World Series of canines.
While her life has been softball, dogs have also been a lifelong passion.
Since she could remember, Pearsall worked with her mother, who bred and trained German Shepherds in northern California.
Pearsall breeds, owns, trains and has even shown the massive and playful working group dogs while running Redwood Trails Leonbergers.
Summit, a five-year-old that weighs 120 pounds, has captured numerous awards, but the trip to the Big Apple was the pinnacle.
As a softball coach, achieving at a high level is nothing new, as Louisville has won six conference titles, competed in 11 consecutive NCAA Regionals and hosted four, despite Pearsall building the program from the ground up in 1999.
