CULLMAN, Ala. – Their paths began at eight Cullman County high schools and led to state championships, collegiate national titles, coaching records and decades of service to athletics.
Eleven former athletes, coaches and administrators were inducted into the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame’s 26th class Saturday, July 25, at Stone Bridge Farms.
The Class of 2026 includes Deserae Campbell, Bob Bryan, Trey Jones, A.J. Lamar, Matt Black, Susan Cofer, Rod Elliott, Ronald Swann, Chuck Gambrill, Joseph Sherrell and the late Neil Lowry.
The honorees’ careers stretch from the late 1960s to the present and cover football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field, cross-country, golf, powerlifting and bodybuilding.
Deserae Campbell, Cold Springs
Campbell, a 2000 Cold Springs High School graduate, built a multisport résumé as an all-county performer in basketball, track and volleyball.
She won the Class 2A state championship in the 1,600-meter run in 1998 with a time of 5:43.57. Campbell returned to the state meet in 1999 and placed third in the 1,600, fourth in the 800-meter run and seventh in the triple jump.
Campbell was also a member of Cold Springs’ 1998-99 Class 2A state championship basketball team. The Eagles finished 32-1 and became the first Cullman County basketball program to win a state championship.
She later competed at Wallace State, where her Hall of Fame résumé credits her with championship success in cross-country and track.
Bob Bryan, Cullman
Bryan graduated from Cullman High School in 1971 after lettering in football for three seasons.
The Bearcats’ team captain earned all-state and All-Tennessee Valley Conference honors. The Cullman Quarterback Club presented him with its Most Valuable Lineman and Academic Achievement awards, while WKUL Radio named him Defensive Player of the Year.
Bryan represented Cullman in the Alabama North-South All-Star Game and was selected as the North team’s most valuable player by his teammates.
He accepted a scholarship to the University of Alabama, played three seasons under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and graduated from Alabama in 1975.
Trey Jones, Cullman
Jones’ career has carried him from Cullman to the highest levels of collegiate golf.
A 1986 Cullman High School graduate, Jones completed his degree at the University of North Alabama in 1991. Florida State hired him as its head men’s golf coach and director of golf in 2003.
Jones has led the Seminoles to 41 tournament victories, the most in program history, and 20 consecutive NCAA regional appearances. His teams have recorded four top-five finishes at the NCAA Championship, including a national runner-up finish in 2024.
Florida State returned to the NCAA Championship Finals in 2026 after making five consecutive appearances from 2021-25.
Jones is a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year and was named the Golf Coaches Association of America’s Southeast Region Coach of the Year in 2021. He was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in December 2025 and served as a Team USA co-head coach for the 2026 Palmer Cup.
During his Florida State tenure, Jones has coached 16 All-Americans who have combined to earn 44 All-America honors.
A.J. Lamar, Cullman
Lamar graduated from Cullman High School in 1993 following one of the most accomplished multisport careers in Bearcats history.
He rushed for a school single-season record of 2,198 yards in 1992 and finished with 3,909 career rushing yards. Lamar was a two-time all-area selection, the 1992 Cullman County Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection.
His accomplishments extended beyond football. Lamar earned all-area and all-state basketball honors in 1993 and was an all-area and East-West All-Star selection in baseball.
Lamar continued his football career at UNA, where he was a member of three consecutive NCAA Division II national championship teams from 1993-95. He earned All-Gulf South Conference honors in 1995 and 1996 and was named a third-team All-American in 1996.
He was later selected to UNA’s 1989-98 Team of the Decade.
Matt Black, Fairview
Black began contributing to Fairview athletics long before his senior year. He lettered in varsity baseball as a seventh grader and varsity football as an eighth grader.
The 1996 Fairview graduate finished his football career with 4,832 rushing yards and 72 touchdowns. Those totals stood as Fairview standards for approximately three decades.
Black earned all-county and all-area honors in 1993, 1994 and 1995. He was named first-team all-state as a junior in 1994.
Susan Cofer, Good Hope
Cofer, a 1984 Good Hope High School graduate, distinguished herself in basketball, volleyball and softball.
She earned all-county and all-area basketball honors in 1983 and 1984. Cofer was named Good Hope’s best defensive player in 1984, selected to the Region 6 All-Tournament Team and chosen for the East-West All-Star team.
Cofer was also a two-time all-county and all-area volleyball player. Her 1984 season included best defensive player, all-tournament and first-team all-state honors.
She also competed for 10 years in the Good Hope Community Softball League.
Rod Elliott, Hanceville
Elliott graduated from Hanceville High School in 1986 after excelling in football, basketball and baseball.
He was a first-team all-state football selection, team captain and team most valuable player in 1985. Elliott earned all-county football honors in 1984 and 1985 and was selected as an AHSAA Player of the Week during his senior season.
On the basketball court, Elliott earned all-county and all-area recognition in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He led Hanceville in scoring during each of those seasons and was named most valuable player of the 1986 East-West Basketball Game. He also participated in the 1986 East-West Baseball Game.
Elliott later became the winningest head football coach in Cold Springs history. He recorded 60 victories during 12 seasons across two tenures and led seven teams to the playoffs.
He also established Cold Springs’ fast-pitch softball program. His 2006 team won the county championship and became the first Cullman County fast-pitch softball team to reach the state championship tournament.
Ronald Swann, Hanceville
Swann’s nearly four decades in high school athletics included work as a coach, administrator and Alabama High School Athletic Association official.
A 1965 Hanceville High School graduate, Swann later graduated from the University of Montevallo in 1977.
He became Jemison High School’s head football coach and athletic director in 1979. Swann compiled a 60-27-1 record during eight seasons and led the program to three region championships.
His success earned him a coaching position in the 1984 North-South All-Star Football Game at Auburn University.
Swann later served as head football coach and athletic director at Handley High School and defensive coordinator at W.A. Berry High School. He joined the Hoover City Schools administrative staff in 1992 and became Hoover High School’s athletic director in 1999.
Hoover’s athletic programs captured 28 state championships during his five years as athletic director.
After retiring from public education in 2004, Swann became the AHSAA’s director of marketing. He later served as athletic director at Shades Mountain Christian School and spent seven years as the AHSAA Fifth District compliance officer.
Chuck Gambrill, Holly Pond
Gambrill, a 1988 Holly Pond High School graduate, reached the AHSAA Final Four in each of his final three basketball seasons.
He was a four-time all-county selection and earned all-area honors in 1986, 1987 and 1988. Holly Pond captured three consecutive area championships from 1986-88 and won the Cullman County championship in 1987.
Gambrill scored 1,200 career points, earned all-state recognition and was named most valuable player of the 1988 East-West All-Star Game. His performance earned him a basketball scholarship to Wallace State.
He also earned all-county recognition and an East-West selection in baseball.
Gambrill’s basketball coaching résumé includes area championship teams in 1994, 1995 and 2003 and a county championship in 2001. He was also part of AAU state championship teams in 2008 and 2021.
As a golf coach, Gambrill led teams to three consecutive county championships from 2000-02. His teams reached the state tournament in 2001 and 2002, finishing third in 2002.
Joseph Sherrell, Vinemont
Sherrell graduated from Vinemont High School in 1995 after compiling achievements in track and field, powerlifting and basketball.
He led Vinemont’s track and field team in points scored in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Sherrell won his weight class at the 1994 Cullman County Powerlifting Championship and was named the competition’s Most Outstanding Lifter.
His senior track season included Cullman County, Class 2A Area 10 and sectional championship most valuable player honors.
At the 1995 AHSAA state meet, Sherrell won Class 3A championships in the long jump and triple jump and earned a bronze medal in the shot put.
He was also Vinemont’s leading basketball scorer and team most valuable player during the 1994-95 season.
Sherrell joined the Wallace State baseball program in 1996 and qualified for the National Junior College Indoor Track Championship, where he finished 13th nationally. He was a member of Wallace State’s 1997 junior college outdoor track national championship team.
Sherrell added another title to his résumé in 2009 when he won the NGA Alabama light-heavyweight bodybuilding championship.
Neil Lowry, West Point
Lowry, who passed away in 2021, was inducted posthumously.
The 1969 West Point High School graduate earned all-county basketball honors in 1967. He repeated as an all-county selection in 1968 and 1969 while also earning team most valuable player and all-area honors.
Lowry also competed in track and won the Cullman County mile championship in 1969.
Together, the 11 inductees represent more than half a century of Cullman County athletic history and accomplishments extending from local fields and gymnasiums to state and national championship stages.
