Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame Class Includes Jalen Smith, Jack Degele

Former Mount St. Joseph star, longtime BCL commissioner headline 12-member induction class.

Jalen Smith, currently playing with in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, is among 12 inductees in the Class of 2026 Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame. | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Catholic League will induct 12 members to its Hall of Fame in June.

Jalen Smith and Jack Degele Headline the Class of 2026

Former Mount St. Joseph star Jalen Smith and former BCL commissioner Jack Degele headline the new class. Smith, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, was a two-time BCL Player of the Year. The former McDonald’s All-American starred at the University of Maryland for two seasons before being selected 10th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. 

Degele was the longest-tenured BCL commissioner (25 years) before stepping down after the 2024-25 season. He is stabilized the league, adding bylaws and creating a board of directors. 

Jack Degele (left) poses with Our Lady of Mount Carmel basketball coach Tony Martin after Martin was selected as the Baltimore Catholic League's Coach of the Year at the league’s annual award luncheon in February. Degele has stepped down as the BCL commissioner after a successful 25-year run. | Derek Toney

Degele, a 1965 Mount Saint Joseph graduate who was a men’s basketball assistant coach at several colleges, helped establish the BCL Hall of Fame in 2011.

Moorhouse and a Distinguished Group of Former Players to Be Inducted

Smith and Degele will be joined by former Cardinal Gibbons coach Bryan Moorhouse and the following former players:

• Jamal Brunt (St. Frances Academy)
• Lee Hicks (St. Maria Goretti)
• Vernon Hill (Calvert Hall College)
• Darnell Hopkins (Towson Catholic)
• Cory Hudson (Archbishop Spalding)
• Marty Johnson (Cardinal Gibbons)
• Malcolm McMillan (John Carroll School)
• Terry Nolan (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)
• Lou Winston (Loyola Blakefield)

Brunt starred at St. Frances in the mid-90s and played at Randolph-Macon, before going on to a long career as a college coach. He is currently a member of the staff at Syracuse University. Hicks played alongside the legendary Rodney Monroe at Goretti, in the early '80s, giving the now shuttered Hagerstown school one of the best backcourts in BCL history.

Hill was one of the unsung heroes of Calvert Hall's 1981-82 undefeated national championship team. He becomes the eighth member of that team inducted into the BCL Hall of Fame. Hopkins, the current head coach at Archbishop Curley, played for the legendary Mike Daniels in the late 90s at Towson Catholic, alongside NBA great Carmelo Anthony.

Nolan, who starred at Towson University, is the first inductee from Mount Carmel. Winston is the No. 9 all-time scorer at Loyola Blakefield, with 1,139 points and was a McDonald's All-American in 1984. Johnson led Gibbons to the 1983 BCL championship and was named the tournament MVP.

McMillan was a senior star at John Carroll in 2010-11, during the Patriots' first season in the BCL and he led the team to the championship and earned BCL Player of the Year honors. Hudson was a star on some great teams at Archbishop Spalding in the early 2000s.

Moorhouse served as the top assistant to the late, great Ray Mullis for 22 seasons at Cardinal Gibbons and took over the program in 1995 after Mullis' passing.

The BCL's 8th Hall of Fame Class Will Be Enshrined on June 11

The ceremony, which represents the eighth BCL Hall of Fame class, will take place June 11 at the Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Md. The Class of 2026 will join 82 previous honorees who were previous inducted in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2024.