The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) annually bestows an honor, regarded as the highest achievable accolade in high school sports and activities, upon 12 individuals with their respective enshrinements into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is proud to announce that one of the 2023 inductees, University Interscholastic League (Texas) nominee Tamika Catchings, started her historic career right here in Illinois.
Catchings started her high school career at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, leading the Patriots to an IHSA Class AA Girls Basketball State Championship in 1995. She was named Ms. Basketball in 1995, making her the youngest player in state history to achieve the accolade.
Catchings moved to Texas prior to the 1995-96 school year, where she continued her record-setting prep career and followed that by winning championships at the NCAA, Olympic, and WNBA levels.
Catchings monumental career and accolades are chronicled by the NFHS in the release below:
Tamika Catchings
From high school to college to the Olympics to the WNBA, Tamika Catchings is one of the greatest female basketball players of all time. Her high school career was split between Illinois and Texas. She won a state title at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire and was Miss Illinois Basketball in 1994-95.
Catchings finished her high school career at Duncanville (Texas) High School, where she led her team to the regional finals in 1995-96 and the Texas 5A state championship in 1996-97. In her junior season, Catchings was a member of the Duncanville girls volleyball team that claimed the 5A state title. In her senior basketball season at Duncanville, Catchings was Miss Texas Basketball and Naismith National Player of the Year.
At the University of Tennessee, Catchings led the Lady Vols to the NCAA title in her freshman season and a runner-up finish as a junior, when she was the Naismith College Player of the Year. In her four years, she helped Tennessee to an overall record of 134-10.
Catchings played with the Indiana Fever in the WNBA for 15 years and is third on the all-time scoring list and fifth in career rebounding. She helped the Fever to the 2012 WNBA title, and she played on four Olympic teams that claimed gold medals. She has been named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.