Induction Ceremony Scheduled for September in Bangor

PORTLAND, Maine (May 19, 2025)—The Maine Sports Hall of Fame today announced its 2025 Honorees. Ten individuals will officially be inducted at a ceremony in Bangor on September 21^st.

“Each year the selection process is a challenge due to the many, many qualified people who are eligible for consideration,” said Brian Corcoran, President of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. “The individuals the committee selected this year truly represent the best of the best, and we look forward to officially welcoming them to the Hall in September.”

The 2025 Inductees are:

Bryant Barr was a two-sport star at Falmouth leading the Yachtsmen to state titles in soccer and basketball. In basketball, he was known for his long-range shooting touch and averaged 25.5 points a game his senior year. He became Falmouth’s all-time leading scorer and was named Mr. Maine Basketball in 2006. He went on to play Division 1 at Davidson where he roomed with Steph Curry. The Wildcats made two NCAA Tournaments, beating Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin to reach the Elite 8 before losing to eventual National Champion Kansas.

Clara Brown is a para-cyclist who grew up in Falmouth and now lives in Cumberland. She was injured in a gymnastics accident as a pre-teen. She became a coxswain in high school and started cycling. She has since become one of the best in the world. Clara has 11 World Championships para-cycling medals including three World Titles and competed in two Paralympic Games, finishing 4^th in Tokyo and winning a Bronze in Paris.

Warren Caruso is about to pick up his 600^th victory as coach of the Husson University basketball team. A fine player at Bangor and Husson, he has led the Eagles to 16 conference championships and 16 NAIA/NCAA National Tournament appearances. Additionally, Caruso has been named Conference Coach of The Year seven times and Maine State Coach of the Year three times.

Jamie Cook was a three-sport star at Kennebunk winning two National HS Championships and State Championships in six different events in Track and Field. In Football, he was All-State at five different positions and was the Lobster Bowl MVP. At Penn State, Cook was a three-time All-American in the Decathlon where he was a Big 10, Penn Relays, and IC4A Champion. His 25-year coaching career has included stops at UPenn, Oregon, and now the US Naval Academy where he directs the T&F/XC program. Highlights include multiple Olympians, 15 NCAA Team Championships and 30 Patriot League Team Titles.

Dajuan Eubanks, has been with the Maine Celtics since the team’s inception in 2009 when he was hired as vice president of corporate partnerships and was later promoted to executive vice president. In 2014, he became team president, and helped lead the team's acquisition by the Boston Celtics in 2019. Eubanks was named NBA G League Executive of the Year for the 2019-20 season. He also co-founded the Blue Wave basketball program. Before moving to Maine, he played at Rice University and three years with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Kelly Bowman Flagg is best known as the matriarch of Maine’s premiere basketball family. She was a 1200-point scorer at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport. She went on to the University where she played on three conference championship teams and was a captain her senior year when Maine defeated Stanford in the NCAA Tournament. Along with age-group teams on which her sons have played, Kelly was an assistant coach of the Nokomis Girls’ Varsity.

Lynn Hersey played basketball for Dexter and Plymouth State has now established a national power as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Smith College. Lynn has been named D3Hoops National Coach of the Year the past two seasons and was the WBCA National Coach of the Year in 2023. Smith has been to three consecutive final fours and the national finals the last two years. She has won five NEWMAC Championships and has a current streak of three 30-win seasons.

Jesse Labreck is a track star who won four events at her high school state championship and set four state records while competing for Messalonskee High School. She accomplished one of the most impressive feats in UMaine athletics history when she won five events and placed third in two at the 2010 America East Outdoor Championships and was named the meet’s outstanding performer. She would set ten records during her career at the University of Maine. Jesse became nationally known as “Flex” by becoming a champion on the NBC program “American Ninja Warrior” hitting 10 buzzers and breaking her own female record for buzzers hit.

Larry Mahoney has spent 51 years as a sportswriter for the Bangor Daily News earning a stellar reputation while writing on every sports topic imaginable. He has held several cherished beats including Maine Hockey since its inception in 1976. He is also color analyst for UMaine Hockey radio broadcasts. His peers have voted him Maine Sportswriter of the Year six times. He was a three-sport athlete at Bangor and captain of its baseball and football teams. He played baseball briefly at Maine.

Danny Paul is a Portland native who made four all-state teams and competed for five championship teams as a runner for Portland High. He went on to Northeastern where his teams were Greater Boston and IC4A champions. He went on to win road races in at least 50 Maine communities in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. He has coached with great success at Mt. Blue, Greely, Presque Isle and Falmouth. From 1983 through 1993, his Greely teams were undefeated in dual meets and won eight states among the more than 30 his teams have won overall.

Interviews with the inductees can be arranged by calling Executive Director Bill Green at (207) 807-7666.

Photos of the inductees can be found here.

Tickets for the induction ceremony, which will take place at the Gracie Theatre on the campus of Husson University will go on sale June 1 at MSHOF Tickets

The Maine Sports Hall of Fame in cooperation with the Maine Trust for local news is proud to offer a webinar specifically aimed at Maine high school students. The purpose of the program is to help kids get ready for college and college athletics.

To register for the webinar, just click this link: 

https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/21/maine-sports-hall-of-fame-student-athlete-symposium/

On Monday, March 10, at 9 AM, the program will begin with a panel of college student-athletes. Moderated by Bill Green, the students will share stories of their experiences in college and try to pass on some things they have learned about making the jump from high school to college. Our guests include Danielle Emerson a volleyball player from Biddeford. She helped lead Plymoth State to the Little East semi-finals and a 27-4 record.

Nick Laughlin of Cape Elizabeth is a red-shirt sophomore wide receiver at Maine. Nick did not even dress for a game his freshman year. Last year, Nick was Maine’s third-leading receiver with 22 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also had five carries and could be moved to running back/slot back roll this fall. He is a business major.

Alyssa Bourque is a track athlete at Vermont who hails from Lawrence High in Fairfield. Alyssa scored in meets as a freshman in the javelin. She is represented by Pliable Athletics and is a NIL athlete sponsored by Aroma Joe’s. She’ll discuss the new-age aspect of athletics.

And Isaac Hainer, of Mattanawcook in Lincoln. He’s a baseball player at Clark University in Worcester and will have just returned from the team’s Florida trip the day before. Isaac is a sophomore and a former Maine Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship winner.

Our coaches are legendary in Maine. Joanne McCallie who coached Women’s Basketball at Maine, Michigan State and Duke, Jack Cosgrove was Head Football Coach at Maine and currently at Colby, Lynn Hersey of Dexter who is the head basketball coach at Smith and Edwin Thompson who is the current Head Baseball Coach at Georgetown. Edwin is a native of Jay, Maine and the only member of the panel not yet inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

The Maine Sports Hall of Fame has opened its 2025 application program.  This year, 16 student-athletes will receive $1000 scholarships with one winner coming from each Maine county.

"We're trying to make our organization more statewide" said Executive Director Bill Green.  "We are excited to be returning our Induction Ceremony to the Bangor area."  The event will be September 21 at the beautiful Gracie Theatre on the campus of Husson University.  For the second year, the event will be televised statewide on a delayed basis by Maine Public.

Interested students are encouraged to fill out the form on line: https://www.mshof.com/scholars...

MSHOF began honoring the "Best of the Best" of Maine's high school student athletes in 1978.

Questions about the program can be emailed to info@mshof.com

Cumberland, ME -- Maine Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Dough Friedman has accepted the Head Ice Hockey Coaching position at Western Connecticut. The Wolves will begin play in the fall of 2025. The former NHL player has been forced to step back from his duties with the MSHOF and focus his attention on his new team in Danbury, Connecticut.