— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Summer workouts are underway for college basketball teams around the country, but there is hardly an end to the recruiting season.
The Marshall men’s team recently bolstered its front court with the addition of 6-foot-9 Bosnian forward Visilije Kuridza, who comes to Huntington after spending last season at Tulane.
Considered somewhat of a project, Kuridza appeared in only two games last season for the Green Wave and did not score.
He played for the Bosnia U-18 National Team for three seasons, averaging 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 22 career games. Kuridza helped the Bosnia U18 team finish 18th in the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division B, 14th in the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B, and sixth in the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B.
He also participated in club competition, including two years with KK Igokea in the Bosnian League and the ABA League, while spending one season with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2023 Europe Basketball Without Borders, organized by the NBA and FIBA.
Luke Rasmussen, a past teammate of Kuridza’s at Tulane, transferred to Marshall earlier this offseason.
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The Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame will add nine new members this fall.
The members of the 2026 Hall of Fame class were announced Friday morning. The group will be honored on the weekend of September 12 when Marshall welcomes Middle Tennessee for its home opener in football.
“Every member of the Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame has helped write a chapter in the story of our university,” said Gerald Harrison, Marshall Vice President and Director of Athletics. “This year’s class embodies the passion, perseverance, and excellence that define Marshall Athletics. Their achievements on the field, in the classroom and beyond have elevated our program and left a lasting impact on countless student-athletes who have followed in their footsteps.
This year’s class is highlighted by two of the top men’s and women’s basketball players in Herd history in Jon Elmore and Shayna Gore, a pair of West Virginia natives.
Elmore is second on the Marshall Men’s Basketball all-time scoring list with 2,638 points, trailing only Taevion Kinsey, who played one additional season while with the Herd in college. Elmore is No. 1 in Marshall history with 783 assists, 356 three-pointers and 686 made free throws.
Gore is third on the all-time Marshall women’s basketball scoring list and tops in three-pointers at 303.
Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame are former softball great and Marshall’s current softball head coach, Morgan Zerkle. In 2017, Zerkle was named a second-team All-American, Conference USA Athlete of the Year and Conference USA Softball Player of the Year. She also is a three-time Academic All-American and a three-time All-Conference USA first-team selection. During her senior year, Zerkle helped lead Marshall to the NCAA Tournament.
Other members of the Hall of Fame class are Mario Harvey and Cody Slate from football, volleyball’s Kellie Beckelheimer-Wood, Christian Brand from men’s golf, tennis player Michaela Kissell and former track and field and cross country coach, the late Otto “Swede” Gullickson.