By LARRY VAUGHT
Being among the 24 student-athletes selected for induction into the 2021 class of the Frank G. Ham Society of Character means a lot to Kentucky juniors Renee Abernathy and All Stumler.
The Society of Character annually honors UK athletes who have shown an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence, athletic participation, personal development, career preparation and serving as a role model.
“It is such an honor. It’s a very big deal in UK athletics to be in this group. I am just really proud of myself for being inducted as a junior,” said Abernathy, a human health services major who plans to be a physician.
Abernathy is a starting outfielder on UK’s softball team and teammates Mallory Peyton, Lauren Johnson and Grace Baalman were also selected for induction.
“Coach (Rachel) Lawson does a really good job bringing people to the team that also have high hopes for their careers and strive to be good people all around,” Abernathy said. “Softball is not 100 percent of our lives. We are working to develop our futures and our team in general prioritizes character, leadership skills, future careers and softball.”
Stumler has been a standout for the highly ranked UK volleyball team again this year. She also has two teammates — Lauren Tharp and Cameron Scheitzach — joining her on the induction list.
“I was certainly not expecting it,” Stumler, an elementary education major, said. “We got the application back when we were in quarantine and I was in Florida with my family. I thought it was be so cool to be picked and then I got the email saying I was selected. I looked at the list of awesome people being inducted and it just hit me what an even bigger honor it was.
“The older you get it is less about what you do on the court and more about off the court things, how you give back and how you give to other people.”
Kentucky softball is 23-2 going into its SEC home opening series against Alabama this weekend while UK volleyball is 17-1 and leading the SEC going into its final two regular-season matches this week against Alabama.
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As Kentucky volleyball continues to win year after year, has that put more pressure on recruiting or made recruiting easier for coach Craig Skinner?
“We are very excited about our (20)21 class. We have done our job there but you never know until they sign,” Skinner said. “The advantages are more doors are opened and we are talking with more people in different parts of the country than we have before.”
Kentucky has become an annual SEC title contender, top 20 team and NCAA Tournament participant under Skinner. This season UK is 17-1.
“The better you get, the bigger ego you get and go after the cream of the crop of recruits and then the competition is stiffer to get them,” Skinner said. “You need great players, but you also need the right players. I don’t think we will ever shy away from the fundamentals we use to recruit.”
Whatever Skinner and coaches of other UK women’s sports are doing, it certainly is working. The only Division I school that is nationally ranked in the top 25 in women’s basketball, women’s indoor track, softball, women’s swimming and volleyball is Kentucky.