KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Former Gulf Coast State College head coach Roonie Scovel received the ultimate honor on Thursday when she was named to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Scovel is joined in the Hall's 25th Anniversary class by WNBA legends Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus, and Rita Gail Easterling, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Violet Palmer and Sue Phillips.
Scovel, who was inducted into the FCSAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, led Gulf Coast State to a 25-year run of dominance upon joining the program in 1996. She guided the Commodores to 18 Panhandle Conference Championships, 13 FCSAA Championships and NJCAA Championships in 2003, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Twenty-four student-athletes were named All-America and countless others garnered All-Panhandle Conference and All-FCSAA recognition during her career on the Gulf Coast State sidelines.
In each of the Commodores' six national championship seasons, Scovel was named NJCAA Coach of the Year and she is a 12-time FCSAA Coach of the Year.
At the time of her retirement in 2020, her 646 wins rank 12th all-time at the two-year level and her winning percentage was an astounding 88 percent over 22 seasons. Recognizing her contributions to the sport, the FCSAA's coach of the year award is named in her honor and the court at Gulf Coast State's Billy Harrison Fieldhouse bears her name.
Prior to Gulf Coast State, Scovel enjoyed a successful career as a high school coach, winning a state championship at Laurel Hill in 1995.
The induction ceremony will be held at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 27, 2024.
CONGRATULATIONS to the WBHOF Class of 2024 Hall of Famers. Join us April 27th in Knoxville, TN to celebrate this class, the ?Trailblazers of the Game? @cheyneyuniv, and the ?For The Love of the Game? award recipients (Afghan Athlete Resettlement Program). pic.twitter.com/sxT6UD5XYg
— WBHOF (@WBHOF) December 1, 2023