John Beilein Headlines WVU's Seven-Member 2026 Hall of Fame Class

A new group of legendary Mountaineers is to be celebrated this fall.

Jan. 9, 2007; South Bend, IN, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach John Beilein signals to his players in the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports © copyright (2007) Matt Cashore | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hours before the West Virginia Mountaineers host the Arizona Wildcats in a key football matchup on October 10th, seven former Mountaineers will officially be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.

This year's class is headlined by former men's basketball coach John Beilein and will enter the hall with Kadeisha Buchanan (women's soccer), Dennis Fowlkes (football), Bria Holmes (women's basketball), Alex Kasich (men's cross country/indoor & outdoor track and field), Ashley Lawrence (women's soccer), and Craig Turnbull (former wrestling head coach).

John Beilein may have only been in charge of the Mountaineers for five seasons (2002-07), but he helped the program bounce back after four disappointing seasons at the end of Gale Catlett's career. Year one was a struggle, of course, going 14-15, but they took a step in the right direction in year two, going 17-14, before ripping off a combined 73 wins the next three seasons, featuring a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Beilein took the Mountaineers to two Sweet Sixteens and one Elite Eight. They came oh so close to punching their ticket to the Final Four in 2005, falling to Louisville in overtime. West Virginia had a 40-27 lead at the half, and the Cardinals answered with a 50-point second half and then outscored the Mountaineers 16-8 in OT.

Beilein is the fifth-winningest coach in program history (164-104), trailing only Gale Catlett, Bob Huggins, Francis Stadsvold, and Fred Schaus.

Former WVU linebacker Dennis Fowlkes is the other big name in this group. From 1979-82, he racked up 459 tackles (286 solo), 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles, and two pass breakups. After notching 57 tackles as a freshman, he went on to post three consecutive seasons of 100+ stops. The Columbus, Ohio native spent a handful of years in the NFL, playing for the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins.

Bria Holmes has been one of WVU’s best women’s hoopsters since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference 14 years ago. In 138 career games (105 starts), she averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42% from the field and 28% from three-point range. In 2014-15, she led the conference in minutes played (36.6), while leading the Mountaineers in scoring with 18.8 points per game. She spent five seasons in the WNBA playing for the Atlanta Dream, Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, and Las Vegas Aces.