Brookwood set to induct first class

Brookwood School will induct is inaugural class of athletics hall of fame members, in conjunction with the school’s 50th anniversary.

The class of 22 includes: 
Jason Hurst ‘00

Jason Hurst was a standout three-sport athlete during his time as a Warrior playing football, basketball, and baseball. A true triple threat, he was named all-region for each sport three years out of his high school career. In football, Hurst was named all-state quarterback for his senior season.

Additionally, he was team MVP of the Warriors’ in football, basketball, and baseball his senior year and the Outstanding Senior Athlete for the Class of 2000. He initially played baseball at Jacksonville University before transferring to Georgia Southern University. There he had a .380 career batting average — second in GSU history. He earned first team all-Southern Conference as a senior batting .392 with 10 home runs, 25 doubles, 60 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. Hurst signed with the Boston Red Sox and played in minor and independent leagues for five years. Professionally, he has been an assistant hitting instructor for the Tampa Bay Rays and coached football and baseball at Fullington Academy. There, he accomplished a state championship as well as being named state coach of the year for both sports.

He currently resides in Dothan, Alabama and is the head football coach at Northside Methodist Academy.

Sally Williams was a two-sport athlete at Brookwood for the Lady Warriors, lettering four years in both tennis and basketball. Her primary sport was basketball, where she was a force on the court en route to having her number 14 jersey retired. She was a three-time all-region selection and two-time all-state player in her time at Brookwood. In her junior season of 2001, she garnered Area Player of the Year from the Thomasville Times-Enterprise. As a Lady Warrior, she scored 1,473 points and grabbed 1,110 rebounds.

Williams played collegiately at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee. There, she was named a four-time all-conference member in the SCAC. She is sixth all-time in Sewanee history with 1,284 points and fifth in rebounds with 743. She was also named to the SCAC Academic Honor Roll twice in her collegiate career. She was named to the Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. Her college coach at Sewanee, Dickie McCarthy, is quoted as saying “In my opinion, Sally epitomizes what Division III athletics is all about: great student, great citizen, and great athlete.”

Williams is the mother of three children and resides in Atlanta. Her family are active members of Cathedral of Christ the King.

She also volunteers for the Georgia Center of Child Advocacy.

Rollo Knight was a standout linebacker on the Brookwood football team. He was known for playing with elite effort and intelligence, making tackles all over the field.

He earned both all-region and all-state honors in 2002 as a junior and again in 2003 as a senior, combining for nearly 200 tackles in those seasons. A remarkable performance with 18 tackles garnered him the 2003 GISA All-Star Game defensive MVP before playing football collegiately at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Knight graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney and his master’s of business administration from Florida State University. Knight had a magnetic, positive spirit that impacted countless friendships. He enjoyed his time outdoors with family and friends hunting,fishing, and waterskiing.

At the time of his tragic passing in 2009, Knight served as an acolyte at St.

John’s Episcopal Church and an active member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee. He is remembered as a tremendous athlete and a man of character in the Brookwood community.

Heather Roddenberry is one of the most versatile athletes in Brookwood’s history, shining as a top

contributor in five different sports: softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, and track and field.

A five-year starter in softball, Roddenberry was a four-time all-region selection and earned all-state as a senior. She was also a five-year starter on the Basketball team, scoring 1,337 career points. She impacted the game in multiple ways, surpassing 300 career rebounds, assists, and steals. Roddenberry was a four-time all-region selection and earned all-state honors as a senior.

A five-time letterwinner for the tennis team, Roddenberry was singles runner-up at state as an eighth grader in 1995 and reached the state semifinal for Singles in 1996 and 1997. She switched to doubles play as a junior, helping win a state championship in 1998 and a state semifinal appearance in 1999.

It was on the soccer field where Roddenberry found her passion, being named an all-region and all-state player four consecutive years in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. She went on to play collegiately at Georgia State University, Florida State University, and Thomas University before playing professionally for the Atlanta Silverbacks. She also spent time playing on the USA Olympic Development team, playing in six countries across the world.

Roddenberry presently lives in Thomasville and works as a registered nurse.

Will Sheftall was an outstanding runner for Brookwood in the early 2000s on both the cross country and track and field teams. He set five school records including the 5k in cross country and four others in track: the 1600m, 3200m, 800m, and as a member of the 4x400 relay. Individually, he won five state championships in his time as a Warrior.

As a junior in 2001 and senior in 2002, he took first place at the cross country state meet.

In track, he took state titles for the 1600m in 2002, and both the 3200m and 800m in 2003. As a team, the Warriors won the cross country state championship in the fall of 2002. Sheftall was chosen as the Outstanding Male Athlete for the Class of 2003. He ran both cross country and track collegiately at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

In his senior year, he was named to the all-region team. After graduating from Rhodes, Sheftall earned his master’s degree from Louisiana State University. Currently, He lives in Huntersville, North Carolina where he manages two bike shops.

Hill Smith lettered in three sports as a Brookwood Warrior: basketball, baseball, and tennis. It was on the basketball court where Smith had the most remarkable success. Brookwood made the state playoffs three of his four seasons in varsity boys basketball competition. The Warriors capitalized on every opportunity during Smith’s senior season in 1976-1977, winning all 24 games for an undefeated, state championship-winning campaign. Smith was the leading scorer on the season, averaging over 18 points per game for the Warriors.

In the state quarterfinal, Smith led the team with 25 points in their blowout win over Robert Toombs Academy. He contributed 14 points in the state semifinal win over Windsor Academy and another 19 points against Tattnall Square in the state championship win. The Warriors won those final two games over the Macon schools in Macon to claim the state championship. Smith was named an all-region and all-state player in 1977 as well as the team’s co-MVP.

Smith graduated from the University of Georgia with both his bachelor’s and law degrees. He is currently an attorney here in Thomasville, working at Alexander & Vann, LLP.

Seth Tucker was a tremendous athlete playing both football and baseball at Brookwood. He was an important member on two of the best teams in Brookwood’s baseball history, winning back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004.

Tucker was named all-region four consecutive times from 2001 through 2004. He also was a three-time all-state player from 2002 through 2004, playing primarily at shortstop and pitcher. Tucker delivered a game-tying grand slam in the 2003 state semifinal against Memorial Day and a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the state championship best-of-three series. An individual highlight for Tucker was being named the 2004 GISA Player of the Year in Class AA as a senior.

On the football field, Tucker was named both an all-region and allstate running backin 2002 and 2003 for the Warriors.

Tucker played baseball collegiately at La-Grange College, where he earned all-conference and all-region recognition as a senior in 2008.

He earned his master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University. Presently, he is a certified anesthesiologist assistant here in Thomasville.

An exceptional tennis player at Brookwood, Eric Ward captured a region title in each of his five seasons — 1996 and 1998 as a member of doubles tandems and 1997, 1999, and 2000 as a singles player. He was named an all-region player each of his five seasons.

Ward won four state championship matches, first with doubles in 1996 with Jim Henderson and then 1997, 1999, and 2000 in singles play. Ward was a key contributor to the Warrior tennis team’s success as a member of the 1996 state championship team and the 1997, 1999, and 2000 state runner-up teams. He was named the team’s MVP each of his five seasons.

He played collegiately at Furman University where he was a member of their 2001 Southern Conference championship team.

Ward graduated with his bachelor’s from the University of Georgia and his master’s of business administration from the University of Florida. Ward resides in Thomasville and is a member of Christ Community Presbyterian Church. He has served as a board member for the Thomasville Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, Hands On Thomas County, and United Way of Thomas County.