UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Headlined By Olympians, All-Americans
A group of new Bruins is set to join the ranks of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
On Friday, seven of UCLA athletics’ most decorated athletes and coaches will be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. Tight end Marcedes Lewis, men's basketball forward Tracy Murray, track & field athlete and coach Jeanette Bolden, gymnast Kate Richardson, softball player Megan Langenfeld, swimmer Keiko Price and golfer Tiffany Joh were all chosen on June 29 to be a part of the class of 2021 inductees.
Former UCLA baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer was also initially part of that group, but he was not announced as one of the inductees on Tuesday.
Lewis is in his 16th season in the NFL and will now be honored for his playing career at UCLA. He is the only Bruins’ tight end to have ever won the Mackey Award and still ranks second overall for the most receiving touchdowns with 21 through his four-year UCLA career. Lewis has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2015 and will now join a list of famous football Bruins in the Hall of Fame.
The longest wait for a Hall of Fame induction out of the seven former Bruins goes to Murray.
Graduating from UCLA in 1992, Murray has been eligible since 2002, but will now be showcased 19 years later with the 2021 class. In his three seasons at UCLA, Murray and the Bruins went to March Madness three times. The former first round pick is still known as one of the best shooters in UCLA history, and he is currently the color analyst on the radio broadcasts of UCLA men’s basketball games.
More than five years removed from her time as Bruins’ track & field head coach, Bolden was in her third year of eligibility to become a member of the Hall of Fame. However, Bolden held accolades as both a student-athlete and coach. In 1982, she helped lead the Bruins to their first NCAA women's outdoor track & field title, and as a coach led UCLA to NCAA indoor titles in 2000 and 2001, followed by an outdoor title in 2004. Bolden is also an Olympian, having earned a gold medal as an athlete in 1984 and coached the United States women's track and field team at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Like many UCLA gymnasts, Richardson was an Olympian before joining the Bruins. Richardson earned two NCAA team titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as winning three individual NCAA titles on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Richardson is in her fifth year of eligibility for the honor and will join the Hall of Fame with her former coach Valorie Kondos Field, who was inducted in 2010 whilst still coaching UCLA.
Best known for helping the Bruins win the 2010 Women’s College World Series, Langenfeld won Most Outstanding Player at the WCWS and was also honored as the Pac-10 Player of the Year that season. Langenfeld ended her collegiate career in 2010 and became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2020, only having to wait one year to earn the distinction.
Price was a 22-time All-American for the swimming and diving team at UCLA, and in her post-collegiate career, she was a United States swimmer who qualified for three Olympics trials. Winning one Pac-12 championship in 1999, Price came out on top in the 100-meter freestyle. Finishing her time in Westwood in 2001, Price became eligible in 2011 and waited another decade to earn the Hall of Fame honor.
Lastly, Joh finished her collegiate career with UCLA women’s golf in 2009, and she was chosen for the Hall of Fame two years after becoming eligible in 2019. Through her four years at UCLA, Joh was named an All-American four times, as well as being named the 2008 Pac-10 golfer of the year. On the LPGA tour, Joh competed from 2011 to 2021.
The seven inductees will soon be available to see at the J. D. Morgan Center’s Hall of Fame exhibit on UCLA’s campus.
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