Taylor Athletics Announces 2024 Hall of Fame Class

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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor Athletics will induct a class of four members into its Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 5 as part of the 2024 Taylor Homecoming festivities. The 2024 inductees are Kendall Bradbury, Alec Dutkowski, Alex Lovelace Hughes and Jay Teagle.

Bradbury graduated from Taylor in 2019 as a four-time NAIA All-American on the hardwood and as one of TU's most decorated players in the history of its women's basketball program. Bradbury was twice named the Taylor Female Athlete of the Year, was celebrated as the 2019 Natalie Steele Award winner and played to All-Crossroads League and All-American honors in each of her four years. As a senior, Bradbury was voted the CL Player of the Year after being named the CL Newcomer of the Year as a freshman. Along the way to setting the Taylor and Crossroads League scoring record with 2,850 career points, Bradbury set a record with 21 CL Player-of-the-Week honors and was twice heralded as the NAIA National Player of the Week. In addition to setting TU's all-time career scoring mark, Bradbury also set the single-season mark with 810 points and the single-game record with 41 points and finished with the 2,850 points, 1,204 rebounds and 53 double-doubles. Bradbury's work on the court helped Taylor to back-to-back NAIA National Tournaments in her final two years in Upland, powering the Trojans to the Elite Eight and a Crossroads League Championship in 2019. In her final two seasons, TU went 54-16 with a program-record 30 wins in 2019. Bradbury also excelled in the classroom for Taylor, earning a trio of CSC Academic All-District awards.

Dutkowski also graduated from TU in 2019, having played to four NAIA All-American honors on the links for the men's golf program. Dutkowski was also a four-time PING All-Region standout, a four-time All-Crossroads League performer and a three-time CL Player-of-the-Year selection. On his way to setting Taylor's career scoring average record at 73.11, Dutkowski also became the TU men's golf program's all-time leader with 10 tournament titles, 122 rounds played, 47 rounds of par-or-better, 399 birdies and 21 eagles. Additionally, Dutkowski graduated with nine of Taylor's 10-best single-round scores, including a TU record score of 64, which he posted in the final round of the 2019 NAIA National Championships on his way to a program-record second-place finish. Dutkowski's career head-to-head winning percentage of .891 helped Taylor to back-to-back top-10 finishes at the NAIA National Championships, four-straight Crossroads League Championships and 26 tournament titles.

Hughes graduated from Taylor in 2017 following a record-setting career on the softball field for the Trojans. During her time as a center fielder and leadoff hitter, Lovelace played to one NAIA All-American honor, four All-Crossroads League awards, four CL gold glove selections, two NFCA First-Team All-District nods and one CL Player-of-the-Year recognition. During her time at TU, Hughes piled up 309 hits, 200 runs, 54 doubles, 10 triples, 76 walks and 68 steals to go with a career .412 batting average and a .465 on-base percentage, setting the program's all-time records for average, hits, runs, doubles, triples, walks and steals in a career. While going 144-79 in a Trojan uniform, Hughes led the Trojans to their first-ever CL Championship in 2014, and the first-ever NAIA National Tournaments in program history in 2014 and 2017. With Hughes at the lead, TU also set program marks with 42 wins in 2014 and 13-straight victories in 2017. Hughes also did excellent work in the classroom, earning a pair of CSC Academic All-District awards.

Teagle graduated from Taylor in 1990 after becoming one-of-17 players in the history of the TU men's basketball program to win at least 100 games in a career. The 1990 Gates-Howard Award recipient was named to the All-MCC Team in 1989 and was a two-time all-district performer on the hardwood for the Trojans. Teagle finished his career at Taylor with 1,668 points and 971 rebounds, having led the Trojans in rebounding in each of his four seasons. Teagle's play helped the Trojans win at least 25 games in all four years, resulting in a record of 104-31 during his time with the team. That stretch was highlighted by NAIA National Tournament appearances in 1986 and 1989. Prior to his induction into the Taylor Athletics Hall of Fame, Teagle was also inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for his role on the undefeated 1985 Indiana State Champion Marion High School Team. Teagle also helped MHS to the Indiana State Finals in 1983, was named an Indiana All-Star and Second-Team All-Indiana performer in 1985 and was selected as a Street and Smith Honorable Mention All-American for that season.

Individuals wishing to attend the 2024 Hall of Fame brunch at 9:00 am on October 5 can purchase tickets by going to TaylorTrojans.com/tickets.