Five sporting figures with historic ties to the Port City will be inducted into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame on May 18.
The 2025 class includes former Hoggard football coach and athletic director Scott Braswell and former UNCW men’s basketball coach Jerry Wainwright.
Three days of events for this year’s induction class start with a luncheon scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, at the Wilmington Convention Center, with its fundraiser golf tournament set for Saturday morning at Wilmington Municipal Golf Course.
On Sunday, a reception and auction will start at 5 p.m. at the convention center, with dinner and the induction ceremony at 6. Click here for more information.
Here’s a look at this year’s class of five inductees.
Scott Braswell
One of Wilmington’s most recognizable high school football coaching names, Braswell led the Vikings to the school’s only football state championship victory in 2007.
“I was so blessed to have coached (at Hoggard),” Braswell told the StarNews. “Wilmington has been a wonderful community. I struck gold at Hoggard High School … it’s been a great experience.”
Braswell, whom Hoggard’s football stadium is named after, coached at Hoggard from 1997–2014 and spent several years as the school’s athletic director. He stepped away from the program in 2015 after being diagnosed with cancer.
After recovering, he spent four years in Virginia, where he coached football and was an assistant athletic director from 2017–2021. He rejoined Hoggard’s coaching staff in 2023 in an assistant role, helping the Vikings make a state championship appearance.
Braswell also spent time in South Carolina, coaching with his son at Dutch Fork High School.
In his 17 years at Hoggard, Braswell’s squads won 12 conference championships, made three Final Four appearances, and won the program’s only state title.
Kimberly Crabbe
Kim Crabbe made her mark on professional soccer in 1986, becoming the first Black woman to play for the U.S. National Team.
In 1985, Crabbe and George Mason won the NCAA Tournament, defeating North Carolina in the school’s first national championship in any sport.
A native of Fairfax County, Virginia, Crabbe moved to Wilmington after her professional playing career to become the Outreach Program Director for the Wilmington Hammerheads Youth Football Club.
In 2022, U.S. Soccer created the Kim Crabbe Game Changers Award, given to a member of the soccer community who has made a lasting impact in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in a creative way.
Tommy Craig
A Wilmington, NC native, Craig graduated from New Hanover High School in 1974 and East Carolina University in 1980. He spent 25 years with Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays, including 15 as head athletic trainer and rehab coordinator.
During his tenure, the team secured five AL East titles, two AL championships, and back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 and 1993.
Tommy later spent a decade with the Milwaukee Brewers in player development and worked internationally with the Chinese National Women’s Softball Team. He hosts the podcast Baseball Garage and co-authored Wrap It Up.
David Miller
A standout at Woodruff High School in South Carolina in the 1950s, Miller lettered in four sports and helped win back-to-back state baseball titles.
He earned All-American honors at UNCW (then Wilmington Junior College), where his team won the National Junior College Championship in 1961 before winning an ACC title with Wake Forest in 1963.
After a season with the New York Mets organization, he earned advanced degrees from UNC Chapel Hill and Florida State.
At UNCW, he spent 40 years shaping academics and athletics, serving in roles from assistant baseball coach to associate vice chancellor. He’s in both the UNCW and Woodruff Halls of Fame.
Jerry Wainwright
During his eight years as UNCW’s men’s basketball coach, Wainwright compiled 136 wins (second most in program history) while leading the Seahawks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance (2000) and victory (2002).
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Wainwright started coaching at the high school level in 1971 and last worked as an associate head coach at Fresno State in 2017.
In 2023, he was recognized as the recipient of the Gene Bartow Award, which is presented annually to a current or former coach for his contributions to the game.
