SAC and Catawba Sports Information

The South Atlantic Conference will induct five members into its 2025 Hall of Fame Class.

Receiving honors will be Tusculum’s Tommy Arnett, Wingate’s Anna Atkinson Caparaso, Catawba’s Jim Baker and Mars Hill’s Jonas Randolph. The SAC will also honor the recipient of the Conference’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which will be awarded to Tusculum’s Kyle Cavanaugh.

Baker led the Catawba Indians men’s basketball program for 20 seasons. He had nine 20-win seasons, six SAC regular season titles, six SAC Tournament championships and nine NCAA Tournament berths.

Baker’s 344 coaching victories rank second all-time among SAC head coaches, and his five SAC Coach of the Year awards also ranks second in league history.

Under Baker’s leadership, Catawba graduated 94 percent of its student-athletes, while five student-athletes who were coached under Baker later were enshrined into the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame. Baker himself entered the Catawba Hall of Fame in 2021.

Following his time at Catawba, Baker went on to coach at Central Cabarrus High School, where he helped build the Vikings to a powerhouse in class 3A. Central Cabarrus won 2023 and 2024 state championships, with the Vikings going 95-1 over his final three seasons.

Baker was named the South Piedmont Conference Coach of the Year in each of his seasons at Central Cabarrus, while earning the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year for Boys in 2023 and 2024.

“We are honored to induct these five individuals into the SAC Hall of Fame,” SAC Commissioner Patrick Britz said. “Three of these individuals have embodied what it means to be a SAC student-athlete in both academic and athletic excellence during their time at their various institutions, as well as success after graduating. The other two were long-time and very successful head coaches in our league and helped mold and guide hundreds of student-athletes during their tenures.”

Baker will be enshrined at the SAC Spring Meetings in Charlotte on May 29.