Weber State University Athletics
Weber State announces 2025 Hall of Fame class
8/28/2025 10:19:00 AM | Athletics, Wildcat Club
Kelsey Chugg (women’s golf), Taron Johnson (football), Linsey McFarland (soccer), “CT” Carla Taylor (women’s basketball coach), and Rico Washington (men’s basketball) will be inducted into the Weber State Athletics Hall of Fame in September.
OGDEN - Five Wildcat greats will be enshrined in the Weber State Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class, presented by the Wildcat Club.
Kelsey Chugg (women's golf), Taron Johnson (football), Linsey McFarland (soccer), "CT" Carla Taylor (women's basketball coach), and Rico Washington (men's basketball) have been selected into the Weber State Hall of Fame.
The class will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday, September 19, at the Eccles Conference Center in Ogden. The class will also be recognized at the WSU football home opener on Saturday, September 20. For tickets and for more information about Hall of Fame weekend, contact the Weber State Wildcat Club at 801-626-6576.
Kelsey Chugg - Women's Golf (2011-13)
Kelsey Chugg was a two-time All-Big Sky performer with the Weber State women's golf team from 2011-13, and has since gone on to unprecedented success as an amateur golfer.
A native of Phoenix, Chugg played two seasons at Redlands Community College before coming to Weber State to join coach Jeff Smith and the Wildcat women's golf team. She was a part of the Wildcats for two seasons from 2011-13. She earned All-Big Sky honors in each of her two seasons, including first-team all-conference honors as a senior in 2013.
During her junior season of 2011-12, she finished ninth at the Big Sky Championships and earned second-team honors, and followed that up with first-team honors the following year.
During her Wildcat career, she was an individual medalist at three tournaments. She also recorded 13 top-20 finishes, with nine top-10s and six top-five finishes.
She was named the Big Sky Golfer of the Week four times in her career. She was also recognized for her academic success, earning all-conference academic honors twice and being named to the WGCA Scholar-Athlete team.
Following her Wildcat career, Chugg has gone on to a stellar amateur golf career. She is a six-time champion of the Utah Women's State Amateur Championship, the second most in history.
She has been named the Utah Golf Association's Women's Player of the Year seven times and has competed in three final matches of the US Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.
Linsey McFarland - Soccer (2003-06)
Linsey McFarland played four seasons for the Wildcat women's soccer team from 2003-06, and ranks as one of the top players in school history.
In her four years at Weber State, McFarland was a two-time All-Big Sky first-team selection and was named to the All-Tournament team three times. She still holds three school records and was part of several Big Sky Championship teams.
McFarland still ranks as Weber State's career leader in points with 65. She is also first all-time in career game-winning goals with 12 and is tied for first in school history in career goals scored with 25.
She is one of 11 players in WSU history to earn first-team All-Big Sky honors at least twice.
McFarland, a native of Plain City, where she played at Fremont High School, was part of two Big Sky regular season championship teams and two teams that won the Big Sky Tournament. She was also part of the Wildcat team that won a first round match in the NCAA College Cup.
She helped lead Weber State to regular season titles in 2003 and 2005, and back-to-back Big Sky Tournament titles in 2004 and 2005. She also twice competed in the NCAA College Cup.
In 2005, the Wildcats took on BYU in the NCAA College Cup and defeated the Cougars in penalty kicks. That team is the last from the Big Sky to advance to the second round of the NCAA College Cup.
As a senior in 2006, she led the conference in points with 22.
McFarland played in 77 career matches, fifth-most all-time, and started in 72. She also ranks fifth in school history in career assists with 15 and is sixth in points per game and seventh in shots.
Taron Johnson - Football (2014-17)
Taron Johnson had just one offer to play Division I college football out of high school in Sacramento. He turned that one offer into a Hall of Fame career at Weber State and has gone on to great success in the NFL.
He has been selected to the Weber State Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Weber State was the only school to offer Johnson under new head coach Jay Hill. He turned that into a four-year career with the Wildcats from 2014-17, where he became a Big Sky MVP, an All-American, and helped the 'Cats to a Big Sky Championship.
He earned All-Big Sky honors three times in his career and was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP in 2017, just the fourth player from Weber State to ever earn the award, and the first in 13 years.
He earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore in 2015, then followed that up with second team honors in 2016, as he helped the Wildcats to their first FCS Playoff appearance in eight years.
As a senior in 2017, he was a team captain and led Weber State to a Big Sky Championship, a school record 11 wins, a top-10 national ranking, and two FCS Playoff wins. In addition to being named Big Sky Defensive MVP that season, Johnson was also a consensus first-team All-American. He had three interceptions, nine pass breakups, and 49 tackles on the season as the Wildcats posted a 7-1 conference record and defeated Western Illinois and Southern Utah in the FCS Playoffs, before a narrow loss at No. 1 James Madison.
Johnson still ranks as the all-time leader in pass breakups with 42. He played in 47 career games with the Wildcats and had six career interceptions.
In April 2018, he became the first Wildcat to be drafted in the NFL in eight years as he was selected in the fourth round by the Buffalo Bills.
As he enters his eighth season with the Bills in 2025, Johnson has played in 100 career games. He earned All-Pro honors in 2023 and was named to the Pro Bowl that season.
In eight years in the NFL, he has six interceptions, including two he has returned for touchdowns. He also has 44 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, and 515 tackles, with 22 tackles for loss.
He also had a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game in 2020.
Carla Taylor - Women's Basketball Coach (1989-2011)
"CT" Carla Taylor is a former two-sport Wildcat athlete and had a storied career as a head coach at Weber State. She has been connected to Weber State for the past 45 years.
CT was the head coach of the Weber State women's basketball team for 23 years from 1988-2011, and still ranks as the all-time leader in coaching wins.
She led the Wildcats to 308 wins in 23 seasons as head coach, which still ranks as the second-most wins in Big Sky Conference history. She also won 180 conference games, which is also the second-most all-time.
A native of North Powder, Oregon, Taylor came to Weber State in 1980 to play basketball and was also a member of the Wildcat women's track and field team. She played four seasons for the Wildcat basketball team and scored 1,122 points in 107 career games from 1980-84.
In track and field, she competed in the javelin at the NCAA Division II Championships in 1982.
Following her playing career, Taylor went into coaching. After stops at Morgan High and the University of Utah, she became the head coach at Weber State in 1988 at the age of 26.
She spent the next 23 years leading the Wildcat program. During her career, she coached 23 players to Big Sky first-team honors and three conference MVPs. She was also named the Big Sky Coach of the Year three times.
In 2002 and 2003, Taylor led the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Sky regular season championships and back-to-back conference tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2002, the Wildcats won a then-school record 22 games and won their first-ever Big Sky title with an 11-3 record. Weber State hosted the conference tournament at the Dee Events Center and defeated Eastern Washington and Montana State to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The following season, the Wildcats were 21-9 and again won the conference title at 11-3. They hosted and won the tournament again to advance to another NCAA Tournament.
In her career, she guided the Wildcats to 10 seasons of at least 15 wins, including three seasons of more than 20 wins. The Wildcats finished in the top three in the Big Sky eight times.
CT has been synonymous with Weber State for the last 45 years and continues now as an analyst for the ESPN+ broadcasts of Wildcat women's basketball.
Rico Washington - Men's Basketball (1987-89)
Rico Washington was a two-year standout player for the Weber State men's basketball team from 1987-89. He was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection and is still a Wildcat school record holder with multiple top-10 rankings.
In two seasons with the Wildcats, Washington played in 57 career games and scored 1,196 points. He is still Weber State's career leader in field goal percentage at 58.5 percent. He is also second in school history in career scoring average at 21.0 points per game.
Richard Washington was born in March 1965 in Philadelphia and received the nickname Rico from a ragdoll he owned as a small child. Rico became one of the best high school basketball players out of Philadelphia in the 1980s and was a high school All-American at Benjamin Franklin High School in 1983. He may have been one of the most decorated high school players to ever come to Weber State.
He was highly recruited but struggled academically and attended Gloucester County College in New Jersey, where he played for two seasons.
From there, he was heavily recruited again and ended up at Weber State, where he played for coach Larry Farmer.
He sat out the 1986-87 season as a redshirt, then in his junior season of 1987-88, Washington immediately made an impact. His first season, he led the Big Sky in rebounding and was second in scoring. He averaged 19.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and shot 60 percent from the field, on his way to first-team All-Big Sky honors. That shooting percentage is the third-best in a season in WSU history.
After that season, there was a coaching change, and Denny Huston became the head coach of the Wildcats for Washington's senior season of 1988-89.
Prior to the season, Washington was named a preseason All-American. He once again performed well as he set a then-Weber State school record of 22.1 points per game during the season. He once again led the Big Sky in rebounding at 10.8 per game, which was 10th in the country. He also again finished second in the conference in scoring and earned first-team All-Big Sky honors. He was also named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team and earned All-District honors.
Washington finished his career as Weber State's career leader in scoring average at 21.0 points per game and is now second on that list to Harold Arceneaux, and is ninth in Big Sky history.
He still ranks first with a career field goal percentage of 58.5 percent.
Washington passed away in 1993 from a stroke at the age of 28.
Kelsey Chugg (women's golf), Taron Johnson (football), Linsey McFarland (soccer), "CT" Carla Taylor (women's basketball coach), and Rico Washington (men's basketball) have been selected into the Weber State Hall of Fame.
The class will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday, September 19, at the Eccles Conference Center in Ogden. The class will also be recognized at the WSU football home opener on Saturday, September 20. For tickets and for more information about Hall of Fame weekend, contact the Weber State Wildcat Club at 801-626-6576.
Kelsey Chugg - Women's Golf (2011-13)
Kelsey Chugg was a two-time All-Big Sky performer with the Weber State women's golf team from 2011-13, and has since gone on to unprecedented success as an amateur golfer.
A native of Phoenix, Chugg played two seasons at Redlands Community College before coming to Weber State to join coach Jeff Smith and the Wildcat women's golf team. She was a part of the Wildcats for two seasons from 2011-13. She earned All-Big Sky honors in each of her two seasons, including first-team all-conference honors as a senior in 2013.
During her junior season of 2011-12, she finished ninth at the Big Sky Championships and earned second-team honors, and followed that up with first-team honors the following year.
During her Wildcat career, she was an individual medalist at three tournaments. She also recorded 13 top-20 finishes, with nine top-10s and six top-five finishes.
She was named the Big Sky Golfer of the Week four times in her career. She was also recognized for her academic success, earning all-conference academic honors twice and being named to the WGCA Scholar-Athlete team.
Following her Wildcat career, Chugg has gone on to a stellar amateur golf career. She is a six-time champion of the Utah Women's State Amateur Championship, the second most in history.
She has been named the Utah Golf Association's Women's Player of the Year seven times and has competed in three final matches of the US Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.
Linsey McFarland - Soccer (2003-06)
Linsey McFarland played four seasons for the Wildcat women's soccer team from 2003-06, and ranks as one of the top players in school history.
In her four years at Weber State, McFarland was a two-time All-Big Sky first-team selection and was named to the All-Tournament team three times. She still holds three school records and was part of several Big Sky Championship teams.
McFarland still ranks as Weber State's career leader in points with 65. She is also first all-time in career game-winning goals with 12 and is tied for first in school history in career goals scored with 25.
She is one of 11 players in WSU history to earn first-team All-Big Sky honors at least twice.
McFarland, a native of Plain City, where she played at Fremont High School, was part of two Big Sky regular season championship teams and two teams that won the Big Sky Tournament. She was also part of the Wildcat team that won a first round match in the NCAA College Cup.
She helped lead Weber State to regular season titles in 2003 and 2005, and back-to-back Big Sky Tournament titles in 2004 and 2005. She also twice competed in the NCAA College Cup.
In 2005, the Wildcats took on BYU in the NCAA College Cup and defeated the Cougars in penalty kicks. That team is the last from the Big Sky to advance to the second round of the NCAA College Cup.
As a senior in 2006, she led the conference in points with 22.
McFarland played in 77 career matches, fifth-most all-time, and started in 72. She also ranks fifth in school history in career assists with 15 and is sixth in points per game and seventh in shots.
Taron Johnson - Football (2014-17)
Taron Johnson had just one offer to play Division I college football out of high school in Sacramento. He turned that one offer into a Hall of Fame career at Weber State and has gone on to great success in the NFL.
He has been selected to the Weber State Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Weber State was the only school to offer Johnson under new head coach Jay Hill. He turned that into a four-year career with the Wildcats from 2014-17, where he became a Big Sky MVP, an All-American, and helped the 'Cats to a Big Sky Championship.
He earned All-Big Sky honors three times in his career and was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP in 2017, just the fourth player from Weber State to ever earn the award, and the first in 13 years.
He earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore in 2015, then followed that up with second team honors in 2016, as he helped the Wildcats to their first FCS Playoff appearance in eight years.
As a senior in 2017, he was a team captain and led Weber State to a Big Sky Championship, a school record 11 wins, a top-10 national ranking, and two FCS Playoff wins. In addition to being named Big Sky Defensive MVP that season, Johnson was also a consensus first-team All-American. He had three interceptions, nine pass breakups, and 49 tackles on the season as the Wildcats posted a 7-1 conference record and defeated Western Illinois and Southern Utah in the FCS Playoffs, before a narrow loss at No. 1 James Madison.
Johnson still ranks as the all-time leader in pass breakups with 42. He played in 47 career games with the Wildcats and had six career interceptions.
In April 2018, he became the first Wildcat to be drafted in the NFL in eight years as he was selected in the fourth round by the Buffalo Bills.
As he enters his eighth season with the Bills in 2025, Johnson has played in 100 career games. He earned All-Pro honors in 2023 and was named to the Pro Bowl that season.
In eight years in the NFL, he has six interceptions, including two he has returned for touchdowns. He also has 44 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, and 515 tackles, with 22 tackles for loss.
He also had a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game in 2020.
Carla Taylor - Women's Basketball Coach (1989-2011)
"CT" Carla Taylor is a former two-sport Wildcat athlete and had a storied career as a head coach at Weber State. She has been connected to Weber State for the past 45 years.
CT was the head coach of the Weber State women's basketball team for 23 years from 1988-2011, and still ranks as the all-time leader in coaching wins.
She led the Wildcats to 308 wins in 23 seasons as head coach, which still ranks as the second-most wins in Big Sky Conference history. She also won 180 conference games, which is also the second-most all-time.
A native of North Powder, Oregon, Taylor came to Weber State in 1980 to play basketball and was also a member of the Wildcat women's track and field team. She played four seasons for the Wildcat basketball team and scored 1,122 points in 107 career games from 1980-84.
In track and field, she competed in the javelin at the NCAA Division II Championships in 1982.
Following her playing career, Taylor went into coaching. After stops at Morgan High and the University of Utah, she became the head coach at Weber State in 1988 at the age of 26.
She spent the next 23 years leading the Wildcat program. During her career, she coached 23 players to Big Sky first-team honors and three conference MVPs. She was also named the Big Sky Coach of the Year three times.
In 2002 and 2003, Taylor led the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Sky regular season championships and back-to-back conference tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2002, the Wildcats won a then-school record 22 games and won their first-ever Big Sky title with an 11-3 record. Weber State hosted the conference tournament at the Dee Events Center and defeated Eastern Washington and Montana State to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The following season, the Wildcats were 21-9 and again won the conference title at 11-3. They hosted and won the tournament again to advance to another NCAA Tournament.
In her career, she guided the Wildcats to 10 seasons of at least 15 wins, including three seasons of more than 20 wins. The Wildcats finished in the top three in the Big Sky eight times.
CT has been synonymous with Weber State for the last 45 years and continues now as an analyst for the ESPN+ broadcasts of Wildcat women's basketball.
Rico Washington - Men's Basketball (1987-89)
Rico Washington was a two-year standout player for the Weber State men's basketball team from 1987-89. He was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection and is still a Wildcat school record holder with multiple top-10 rankings.
In two seasons with the Wildcats, Washington played in 57 career games and scored 1,196 points. He is still Weber State's career leader in field goal percentage at 58.5 percent. He is also second in school history in career scoring average at 21.0 points per game.
Richard Washington was born in March 1965 in Philadelphia and received the nickname Rico from a ragdoll he owned as a small child. Rico became one of the best high school basketball players out of Philadelphia in the 1980s and was a high school All-American at Benjamin Franklin High School in 1983. He may have been one of the most decorated high school players to ever come to Weber State.
He was highly recruited but struggled academically and attended Gloucester County College in New Jersey, where he played for two seasons.
From there, he was heavily recruited again and ended up at Weber State, where he played for coach Larry Farmer.
He sat out the 1986-87 season as a redshirt, then in his junior season of 1987-88, Washington immediately made an impact. His first season, he led the Big Sky in rebounding and was second in scoring. He averaged 19.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and shot 60 percent from the field, on his way to first-team All-Big Sky honors. That shooting percentage is the third-best in a season in WSU history.
After that season, there was a coaching change, and Denny Huston became the head coach of the Wildcats for Washington's senior season of 1988-89.
Prior to the season, Washington was named a preseason All-American. He once again performed well as he set a then-Weber State school record of 22.1 points per game during the season. He once again led the Big Sky in rebounding at 10.8 per game, which was 10th in the country. He also again finished second in the conference in scoring and earned first-team All-Big Sky honors. He was also named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team and earned All-District honors.
Washington finished his career as Weber State's career leader in scoring average at 21.0 points per game and is now second on that list to Harold Arceneaux, and is ninth in Big Sky history.
He still ranks first with a career field goal percentage of 58.5 percent.
Washington passed away in 1993 from a stroke at the age of 28.
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