The Bracken County Athletics Hall of Fame class will be inducted on Friday, January 9th, during a boy-girl doubleheader. The three inductees are: Jay Cummins ’40, Garnett Hause, Jt. ’44, and Karlie Smith (Sudlow) ’10.
There will be a banquet starting at 5:00 p.m. in the high school library. The girls’ game vs. Robertson County starts at 6:00 p.m., with the boys’ game at 7:30 p.m. Inductees will be recognized between games. These games are also the start of the 10th Region All “A” Classic.
Jay Cummins
Joshua “Jay” Wells Cummins played basketball for four seasons, scoring 497 points. He helped his team to a 30-4 record his junior year in 1939. That year, Brooksville won a District, Region, and State Championship. The Polar Bears won a District and Region Championship the following year in 1940.
He served in the Navy beginning in 1942 as a cadet. He was a member of the Naval Air Force, Naval Intelligence, and the Naval Air Force reserve, holding the rank of Commander.
Jay Cummins played baseball at the University of Kentucky for four seasons from 1947 to 1950. He lettered all four years as a catcher for the Wildcats after his military service. He was the starting catcher on the 1949 and 1950 “District,” which is now called Regionals. It was the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which they did not make again until 1988.
He was the head coach at Gallatin County High School basketball team for one season in 1951. From 1962 to 1995, he served as a teacher and coach at Waggener High School in Louisville.
Garnett Hause, Jr.
Garnett Hause Jr. played basketball at Brooksville for four seasons from 1941-1944, scoring 800 career points. He led his team in scoring sophomore, junior, and senior years. He played for the 1944 Brooksville Polar Bears that were undefeated at 22-0 in the regular season and ranked the #1 team in Kentucky. Brooksville finished their season at 27-1 when they were upset in the second round of the State Tournament. Garnett won two District Championships in 1943 and 1944, and a Region Championship in 1944. He also played baseball for Brooksville, where he won a Region Championship and State Runner-Up title in 1944.
Hause, and the entire 1944 starting five were offered a Scholarship to Kentucky by Adolph Rupp. Unfortunately, during his medical exam, Garnett was found to have a hernia that ended his playing career. He was inducted into the 10th Region Boys Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Garnett Hause Jr. passed away in 1990. He is the brother of another Hall of Famer, Pete Hause.
Karlie Smith (Sudlow)
Karlie Smith was born on January 6, 1992. Karlie graduated in 2010, playing volleyball, tennis, and was a cheerleader. As a volleyball player, she was a four-year starter, being named to the All-District team in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and the All-Region team in 2008 and 2009. She led the team in kills and blocks from sophomore through senior year and is the all-time blocks leader in Bracken County history, and held the kills record until last year.
She was also a member of the Bracken County Cheer team that won the 2010 regional championship, the school’s first.
Karlie went on to play volleyball and golf at Thomas More. She was part of the honors program with a 4.09 GPA and a 30 ACT score. At Thomas More, she received her Bachelor’s in Education and her Master’s and Education Specialist degree in School Counseling from the Cumberlands. She was an assistant volleyball coach at Bracken County from 2015 to 2021, helping the team to District Championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Karlie is currently a school counselor at Bracken County High School.
In honor of her achievements, Karlie Smith was inducted into the 10th Region Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2016.
