Carlton Inducted into NAIA Hall of Fame

Daarik Gray

Herald Staff

sports@harrodsburgherald.com

Will Carlton is a big presence walking around the halls at Mercer County Intermediate School. The 6-foot-8-inch assistant principal was just as big of a presence on the basketball court in high school and college, which is why he was inducted into the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame March 17 in Kansas City, Mo.

Carlton, who graduated from Anderson County High School in 1995, was a Kentucky All-Star and a first-team All-State player his senior year while also leading his team to an Eighth-Region runner-up finish. After graduation he played at the University of Utah for one year before moving closer to home to play for Georgetown College. 

It was at Georgetown that Carlton made his most impressive accomplishments. In three seasons, Carlton was a three-time All-American and a two-time Mid-South Conference Player of the Year. 

To go with his individual achievements, Carlton, who was inducted into the Georgetown College Hall of Fame in 2008, ranks in the top-10 in Georgetown College history in points (2,197), rebounds (1,170), blocks (103), steals (158), as well as holding the school record for points in a game (51).

Carlton’s college teams were Mid-South Conference Regular season champs twice (1998,1999), Mid-South Conference Tournament Champions twice (1999, 2000),  National Runners-Up (2000) and National Champions (1998). In his three seasons at the school, the team had a 101-13 record.

Carlton said while he was the one receiving the honor, he couldn’t take all of the credit. 

“This is an individual honor, but it is the culmination of several positive influences in my life.  I’ve had roughly 20-25 coaches through the years and they all gave me something,” said Carlton.

Pick up a copy of this weeks Harrodsburg Herald for the rest of the story.