The Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame will induct the following new members on Wednesday, April 17th at 1:00 pm at the Park Hills Gardens.
James Pouncey, 1989 Holmes graduate, umpire
James was a rare three-sport star, a varsity letterman in football, basketball and baseball. He began his coaching career at the Kenton County Boys Club.
For 30 years, he developed and operated the Northern Kentucky Tar Heels/Kentucky Select youth basketball program, which teaches basketball and life skills. The program collected Christmas presents and food and donated these items to Welcome House and the Northern Kentucky Homeless Shelter.
In 2012, James was named Kentucky AAU Coach of the Year. He began serving as a District 9 officer in his 2000 year and became a university officer in 2006. He has played in 15 regional tournaments, 10 All-A tournaments, and four KHSAA basketball state finals. In 2011, he was nominated for the Kentucky State Employee of the Year award.
In 2021, he was named Region 9 Basketball Officer of the Year. He works in his NCAA and his NAIA college basketball in Divisions II and III. His current and past assignments include seven NCAA National Tournaments and nine NAIA National Tournaments. He said his favorite part was officiating the NAIA championship game in South Dakota, which aired on the ESPN network.
Jeff Hans, basketball coach
Jeff is the head coach of the women's basketball team at Thomas More University. In his 13 years at the helm, he has coached three national championship teams and two national runner-up teams.
He has won two National Player of the Year awards and was named National Coach of the Year once. He has a win-loss record of 312-31 (.911), with eight titles in the regular season, eight titles in the conference tournament, and a berth to the national tournament. I have won it 11 times.
Jeff comes to Thomas More from Northern Kentucky University, where he served as a top assistant to NKYSHOF member Nancy Winstel for three years. Jeff spent four years as the women's head coach at Lexington Catholic University and St. Henry University, where she compiled a combined record of 89-34, two district championships and two regional runner-up finishes. Before she served as a high school baseball coach for four years, she spent five years as an assistant at Indiana State University, NKU, and Wilmington University. He helped the team to a combined record of 168-67 (.714) over his eight years in college.
Jeff Hetzer, baseball coach
Jeff was named Presidents Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times and ABCA Conference Coach of the Year three times, posting 18 winning seasons in 19 years. Expected to excel in the classroom and on the field, his team earned him a grade point average of 2.8 or higher in all 38 semesters, 29 of which he scored 3.0 or higher.
The Jeffs had 104 players named all-conference, with 40 of them named to the first team. Jeff was the head baseball coach for his 19 years at Thomas More University. During that time, he compiled a record of 484-277 with five conference championships and seven NCAA appearances. His teams were named regional semifinalists five times and regional finalists once. He is the winningest coach in program history. He won four PAC Player of the Year awards and one Pitcher of the Year award.
He had 39 players named All-Region and seven All-Americans. He had two of his NCAA Graduate Scholarship recipients, as well as 13 district All-Athletes and six of his Google Cloud Academic All-Americans. He was named ABCA Conference Coach of the Year in 2008, 2011 and 2015. He was named PAC Coach of the Year in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He also served as a member of the NCAA Division III Baseball Committee for four years starting in 2008. From 2010 he March 2021.
Ken Ellis, Holmes, Athletic Director, Umpire and Coach
Ken is Holmes' Athletic Director and oversees all coaches to meet federal and state guidelines. He continues to develop sound financial plans for the athletic department. He works with principals on effective communication of athletic events. He oversees all playgrounds used in the Covington School District, coordinates the master schedule for all facilities, collaborates with everyone on the effective use of financial resources, and supervises and avoids over- and double-booking of facilities. Monitor and coordinate all schedules.
He began his career as an assistant football coach at Dayton High School from 1978 to 1984. He served as head women's track and field coach (1978-1984), assistant men's basketball coach (1978-1985), and assistant track and field coach. He was the Director (1989-2000) and Dayton High School Youth Basketball League Director (1988-2000).
He then found time to coach high school basketball for 16 years from 2003 to 2019 and coach football from 1993 to present. Ken was named the 9th Regional Athletic Director of the Year for 2020-2021. Through all this, he said working with children is his biggest thrill and his decision to become an officer was the most exciting decision he has ever made.
Mark Collins, Lloyd Memorial, Soccer/Basketball/Tennis
Marc was a three-year starter in football as a punter and kicker. As a senior, he was Northern Kentucky's leading scorer with 53 points, led Northern Kentucky in average punts and was named third-team all-state as a punter. He was named to the Recorder Newspaper, Northern Kentucky Coaches, Channel 5 Top 22, Enquirer and Class A All-Star teams. He played for the East/West All Stars, where he was named MVP of the game, and earned a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.
In basketball, he was a three-year starter under coach Bill Code. His senior year, he averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds. His free throw success rate this year was 77%. He played in 51 of 67 games from the field and was named to the All-District team. He was selected to his team as a Class AA All-Star, earned All-State Honorable Mention, was a Famous Recipe Player of the Week, and was named Lloyd's “Mr. Team.” Juggernaut”
As a tennis player, he was a starter and letterman in singles and doubles for five years. He was regional runner-up in singles during his junior year and competed in the state singles tournament.
In college football, he was a four-year starter and a two-time all-conference kicker and punter. He was named an All-American by the Associated Press, Sports Network, the Walter Camp Foundation and the Football Coaches Association. Mark signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 1996 and signed with the Buffalo Bills in 1997. He is president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the NFL Players Association and serves on the former NFLPA player advisory board.
Melissa Marsh, Notre Dame Academy Class of 1993, Soccer/Basketball/Softball
soccer: She was named All-State Academic First Team, All-Region First Team, and Kentucky Post Defense Player of the Week in 1993. She led the team to her two district championships, district championship, district runner-up and conference. title and state runner-up.
basketball: She was named Coaches Association First Team, Region 9 All-Tournament, First Team All-Region and a Kentucky Post All-Star. She was named Notre Dame Academy's Most Valuable Player and selected to play in the Senior All-Star Game.
soft ball: She was a three-time All-Region First Team, three-time All-Region Coaches Association, three-time All-State Scholar and a Kentucky Post All-Star. She won her NDA's 3rd Sports Athlete Award, was named Defensive Player of the Year and also played in the Senior All-Star Game. She was named All-American at the American High School Track and Field Championships three times. Melissa was selected to compete in the 1994 World Softball Championship in Kansas City. She was inducted into her NDA Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 2019.
