Meet the Nashville area's all-time best athletes as ranked by The Tennessean
- The Tennessean began a project ranking the top 50 Nashville-area athletes of all time.
- Athletes were considered based on achievements, impact on their sport and broader societal influence.
- The rankings, spearheaded by Paul Skrbina, are being released in sets of 10 each day.
The Tennessean has kicked off a project where it has ranked the top 50 Nashville-area athletes ever.
Sports enterprise writer Paul Skrbina spearheaded the rankings, spending six months researching and putting together a list of more than 125 athletes to consider. A group of editors and writers helped whittle that list to 50 and then ranked them in order.
The criteria: Athletes must be either Nashville-area natives or attended high school in Middle Tennessee. Athletes were chosen based on their athletic achievements in high school, college and professional sports as well as their impact in sport and the world at large.
The Tennessean will release a set of 10 athletes each day as we count down to No. 1.
The first set of athletes released are Nos. 41-50.
41. Sheila Frost
Hometown: Pulaski
High school: Giles County
College: Tennessee
Sport: Basketball
Achievements: Parade All-American. ... All-State. ... Led Giles County to TSSAA Class A state title and 28-1 record as a sophomore. ... Had 30 points, 14 rebounds in state final. ... Member of The Tennessean's 1980s All-Decade Team. ... Scored more than 2,100 career points. ... Helped lead Pat Summitt and Tennessee to its first two NCAA championships. ... Three-time All-SEC. ... Helped Vols to two SEC Tournament titles. ... Averaged 13 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, .591 FG% in 138 games spanning four seasons with Vols. ... Tennessee Hall of Fame.
The scoop: The 6-4 center was named an SEC women's Legend in 2023.
Did you know? Frost's brother, Mike, was a 6-foot-11 center who played for MTSU.
42. Fernando Bryant
Hometown: Murfreesboro
High school: Riverdale
College: Alabama
Sports: Football, track
Achievements: Football All-American at cornerback while in high school. ... Two-time All-State defensive back helped Riverdale with 1994 state football title and runner-up finish in 1993. ... All-SEC second team for Alabama in 1997 and 1997. ... First-team All-SEC in 1998. ... Picked 26th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1999 NFL Draft. ... Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team pick in 1999. ... Super Bowl champion with Steelers in 2008. ... Played 10 seasons with three different teams, finishing with 472 tackles and seven interceptions.
The scoop: Also a standout sprinter in high school, Bryant was named to The Tennessean's 1990s All-Decade Team.
Did you know? His father is former MTSU and NFL standout James Griffin.
43. Ted "Rags" Rhodes
Hometown: Nashville
High school: Pearl High
College: None
Sport: Golf
Achievements: Won approximately 150 professional tournaments, including four National Negro Opens, on the Negro UGA circuit. ... Won four UGA championships. ... National Black Golf Hall of Fame. ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. ... Tied for 51st at 1948 U.S. Open, where he became first Black golfer to play in a PGA-sanctioned event. ... Played in 69 PGA events. ... Best finish was fourth in 1953 Canadian Open. ... Had nine top-20 finishes. ... Part of group that sued the PGA, looking to rid the organization of its "Caucasian only clause" and won an out-of-court settlement, though the clause wasn't abandoned until 1961. ... Worked as a caddie at Belle Meade and Richland country clubs. ... Cumberland Golf Course was renamed "The Ted Rhodes Golf Course" after his death at 55 in 1969. ... PGA of America posthumously granted him membership in 2009.
The scoop: Considered one of the pioneers for Black golfers, Rhodes, who helped break golf's color barrier, was referenced as someone who paved the way by Tiger Woods in his speech after he won his first Masters.
Did you know? Rhodes taught boxing champion Joe Louis how to play golf and worked as his personal instructor. He also mentored Lee Elder, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.
44. Jenny Boucek
Hometown: Nashville
High school: University School of Nashville
College: Virginia
Sport: Basketball
Achievements: Two-time All-State ... Two-time Tennessean Metro Player of the Year ... Led the Midstate in scoring in her junior, senior seasons ... Region MVP ... Led the Tigers to the sub-state as a junior. ... Number 23 retired by University School. ... TSSAA state volleyball tournament MVP ... State's third-ranked tennis singles player ... Scored 1,003 career points at Virginia ... Two-time Academic All-American ... Played three seasons with WNBA's Cleveland Rockers. ... Played overseas with Keflavik in Iceland. ... Won national championship and national cup there. ... Named Foreign Player of the Year. ... WNBA assistant coach with Washington, Seattle and Miami ... Head coach of Sacramento Monarchs. ... NBA assistant coach with Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and currently with the Indiana Pacers.
The scoop: She was one of two women out of 350 to earn a roster spot with the Cleveland Rockers at a tryout in 1997.
Did you know? Boucek graduated with honors and a double major in sports medicine and sports management.
45. Pat Summitt
Hometown: Clarksville
High school: Cheatham County
College: Tennessee-Martin
Sport: Basketball
Achievements: All-District 20 selection at Cheatham County, where she was a four-year starter. ... All-American at Tennessee-Martin. ... Led UT-Martin to two national championship tournaments. ... Graduated as school's all-time leading scorer with 1,045 points. ... Co-captain of silver medal-winning U.S. team at 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. ... Member of 1975 World Championship team, 1975 U.S. National team, 1975 Pan American Games team that won gold, 1973 U.S. World University Games team that won silver. ... Returned to Olympics in 1984 as head coach of Team USA. ... Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. ... Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. ... FIBA Hall of Fame.
The scoop: Summitt, who won eight NCAA titles as a coach, is the namesake of the WNBA franchise Bill and Crissy Haslam tried to bring to Nashville.
Did you know? Her 1,098 career wins at Tennessee were the most in college basketball history when she retired. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in 2012.
46. Brandt Snedeker
Hometown: Nashville
High school: Montgomery Bell Academy
College: Vanderbilt
Sport: Golf
Achievements: MBA Distinguished Alumnus. ... Two-time TSSAA Division II state champion. ... First-team All-American at Vanderbilt. ... First-team All-American. ... SEC Golfer of the Year. ... Southeast All-Region. ... All-SEC. ... SEC Male Golfer of the Year. ... Won Tennessee Tournament of Champions. ... Ranked as high as No. 1 in college. ... Won 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links. ... Nine PGA Tour wins. ... PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2007. ... FedEx Cup champion in 2009. ... Tied for third at 2008 Masters. ... Tied for third 2012 The Open Championship. ... Twice finished eighth at U.S. Open (2010, 2015). ... Payne Stewart Award in 2024. ... Been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world. ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
The scoop: He shot a 59 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to become 10th golfer to break 60 in a round.
Did you know? Snedeker was named captain of the 2026 Presidents Cup team.
47. Mike Wright
Hometown: Nashville
High school: Father Ryan
College: Vanderbilt
Sports: Football
Achievements: Named quarterback on Tennessean's All-Legends Football Team. ... One of Tennessean's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time. ... NIL Offensive Player of the Year. ... TSSAA East-West All-Star Game. ... No. 11 retired by Father Ryan. ... Considered by some longtime coaches as the best football player to ever come out of Nashville. ... All-State. ... Led Father Ryan to 1974 TSSAA AAA state championship and 13-0 season. ... Father Ryan Hall of Fame. ... Drafted by Cincinnati Bengals. ... Played football and baseball at Vanderbilt. ... Played two seasons of minor-league baseball in Detroit Tigers organization.
The scoop: Wright was a two-time NIL Athlete of the Year.
Did you know? Wright's son-in-law, Ingle Martin, was an All-American, two-time Mr. Football and a member of The Tennessean's All-Decade 2000-09 team at Montgomery Bell Academy.
48. Harry Galbreath
Hometown: Clarksville
High school: Clarksville
College: Tennessee
Sports: Football
Achievements: Two-way lineman was All-State as a senior. ... Member of Tennessean's All-Legends Football Team. ... Standout wrestler. ... Member of Tennessee's 100-year All-Time Team. ... College All-American. ... Won 1987 Jacobs Trophy, given to the SEC's most outstanding blocker. ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. ... Second-team All-SEC in 1986. ... First-team All-SEC in 1987. ... Guard played 141 games in nine seasons in NFL with Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets. ... NFL All-Rookie Team in 1987.
The scoop: Galbreath, who played in every game during his four years with the Vols, coached at Austin Peay, TSU, Hampton and Tennessee.
Did you know? Galbreath, who died of a heart attack in 2010 when he was 45, was part of the National Incarcerated Parents and Families Network, a nonprofit that supports and educates families of incarcerated parents.
49. Alex Walsh
Hometown: Nashville
High school: Harpeth Hall
College: Virginia
Sport: Swimming
Achievements: Broke three 11-12 national age-group records. ... Qualified for U.S. Olympic Trials in two events as a 13-year-old. ... Broke 200 IM national age-group record (13-14-year-olds).... Helped Harpeth Hall to five straight team state championships, two national championships. ... Won three gold medals at 2019 Pan Am Championships. ... Won silver in 200 IM at 2021 Tokyo Games. ... Won six medals (two gold, two silver, two bronze) at 2024 SCM World Championships. ... Won 23 NCAA championships, including nine individual. ... Helped Virginia to four straight national championships. ... 34-time NCAA All-American. ... 32-time ACC champion.
The scoop: Alex and her sister, Gretchen, were the first NCAA athletes (and set of siblings) to launch an apparel line with a major retailer after the passage of the NIL.
Did you know? Her mother, Glynis Walsh, was captain of the Boston College swim team.
50. John Pierce
High school: Franklin Road Academy
Hometown: Nashville
College: Lipscomb
Sport: Basketball
Achievements: All-State at Franklin Road Academy. ... Tennessean All-Midstate Boys selection. ... Tennessean Class A Player of the Year. ... College basketball's all-time leading scorer, regardless of gender, division, with 4,230 points. ... Holds Lipscomb all-time leading rebound record with 1,627. ... Two-time NAIA Player of the Year. ... Scored a national-high 31.9 points per game as junior. ... Three-time NAIA All-American. ... Four-time NAIA Tournament qualifier, including two Elite Eights. ... Teams were 121-19 during his four seasons. ... NAIA Hall of Fame. ... Small College Basketball Hall of Fame. ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. ... Lipscomb Hall of Fame. ... NAIA 75th anniversary All-Star team. ... Jersey No. 50 retired by the school.
The scoop: Pierce finished with school career records in rebounds (1,497), field goals (1,627) and free throws (881).
Did you know? Pierce scored in double figures in every college game he played.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.