Four familiar basketball names from the WGIL listening area are part of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Three former small-school girls stars and one legendary boys coach will be inducted May 2, 2026, at CEFCU Arena on the Illinois State University campus.
The local honorees:
- Heidi (Nelson) Libby – ROWVA
Dominant post player for the Tigers who continued her career at Bradley University. - Brooke (Singleton) Frank – Roseville-Yorkwood
Key piece of the co-op program before playing basketball at Illinois State and later volleyball at Jacksonville University. - Katy (Hulin) Hasson – Cambridge
A 1987 Cambridge graduate who went on to star at Augustana College, where she remains the Vikings’ all-time leading rebounder (927) and second on the career scoring list (1,662 points). After college, Hasson taught and coached for 12 years at ROWVA High School, served as athletic director there from 2000-2004, and worked as an IHSA basketball official before becoming a principal (most recently retiring from Rockridge High School). - Tom Wierzba – Farmington (Herrins Award recipient)
Over 26 seasons (1983-2009) turned the Farmers into a small-school dynasty: 520 wins, eight regionals, seven sectionals, five Elite Eight trips, third place in 1998 and fourth with a 32-3 team in 2007. Career total of 611 wins also included stops at Bushnell-Prairie City.
The Herrins Award honors lifetime contributions to Illinois basketball. It’s named for coaching legends Ron Herrin (a high school and college assistant coach who mentored numerous stars at schools like Benton and Olney) and his brother Rich Herrin (a Hall of Fame coach with nearly 1,000 wins, including four undefeated high school seasons at Benton and stints at Southern Illinois University).
The full Class of 2026 can be viewed in the IBCA’s announcement here.