Louisiana High School Sports Hall Of Fame 2016 Class Announced

Several high school coaching legends will enter the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, along with 12-year MLB grinder, Todd Walker.

Walker was a star athlete at Airline High School in Bossier City, then he went on to play a legendary career at LSU. His bio on LSU's website even reads, "Arguably, the greatest player in LSU baseball history."

He left LSU as the SEC's all-time leader in hits (310), RBI's (246), runs scored (234) and total bases (557) and went on to play a long major league career. When he hung up the cleats, he collected over 1,300 hits in the MLB, with 107 home runs and 647 runs scored and a .289 career average. Not to mention, his glove in the infield and grit endeared him to several different fan bases.

Walker's name resonates across the country, but the remaining six inductees carry a ton of weight in the state of Louisiana.

When it comes to high school football in the state of Louisiana, the names West Monroe and Parkview Baptist strike fear into the heart of their opponents. Two men, Don Shows and Kenny Guillot, helped build those two programs into powerhouses over the past few decades.

Looking at the list of all-time coaching wins in the state of Louisiana, you find Don Shows' name fourth on the list. His 345-78 record over his 32 year coaching career includes eight state titles, 17 straight district championships and four undefeated seasons. Of his 345 wins, 273 of them came at the helm of West Monroe. When you look in the trophy case, you see the fruits of Shows' labor. He coached class after class of young men to be champions, and his spot in the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame is beyond deserved.

Speaking of building champions, Parkview Baptist won another state title this year. Every player and coach thanked Coach Guillot for the culture he created that still lives on.

From 2001-2012, Guillot and Parkview Baptist created a monster, piece by piece. In that span, Guillot led Parkview to four state championships in Class 3A and claimed nine district championships. In his time as head coach, he led the team to a 175-41 record, setting a standard for their program that the current coaching regime strives to keep in place.

Shows has to put his championship rings on both hands, and if you throw in Guillot's 1974 championship ring as assistant coach at Tara High School, he checks in at a fist full of rings as well. The next two basketball coaches, Brenda LeBlanc and Steven McDowell, have them both beat.

When it comes to women's basketball in the state of Louisiana, LeBlanc's name speaks for itself. Her 738-84 career record is almost as impressive as her 12 total state titles. She won seven straight championships in Division IV with Episcopal School of Acadiana in Cade before collecting five more at St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge. She put banners up at two different schools, and the LHSAA's choice to put her in the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame was nothing but obvious.

McDowell had one less title (11) than LeBlanc, but his 907-173 career record is almost unheard of.

In Class 5A, McDowell's Southwood High team brought 11 state championships back to the city of Shreveport, and they checked in at runner up another five times. That makes 16 appearances in the championship game under the same head coach. He collected 738 of his 907 wins at Southwood, where he will surely be forever ingrained in their athletic history.

Another coach from Parkview Baptist will go into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, but this one got it done on the baseball diamond.

M.L. Woodruff won 11 state championships for the Eagles in his 27 years as the captain of the ship, sporting an impressive 606-163-2 record in Classes 2A and 3A. To display their dominance under his tenure, they won 21 district titles in his 27 years. It must have been rough for all the other coaches in his area.

That makes 44 combined state championships from the five coaches going into the Hall of Fame. To have all that excellence on one stage will be a sight to behold.

The seventh and final inductee comes from the world of journalism. Ron Brocato wrote for newspapers in Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans, and he also authored the book, "The Golden Game: When High School Football was King in New Orleans." He was previously honored by the LHSAA with their Prep Journalism Award in 2006, and he was the LSWA Writer of the Year in 1997. His impact on the prep world in Louisiana was widespread but still deeply penetrating enough to ensure him a spot in the Hall of Fame.

All seven members of the 2016 class will be inducted on April 12th at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge.