It’s a banner day in Louisville.
That’s because the Greater Louisville Pride Foundation has released the 2025 Hometown Heroes class.
Here’s a look at the seven Louisvillians who will get the Jack Harlow treatment, although specific details on where + when individual banners will be placed are TBA.
Will Smith
Former Louisville Cardinal Will Smith has won two World Series championships with the Los Angeles Dodgers as their starting catcher and is a two-time all-star. In the spring of 2023, he represented the United States in the World Baseball Classic. Before starring for the Cards, Smith attended Kentucky Country Day school.
Okasana Masters
Last summer, Oksana Masters brought home her 19th Paralympic medal in Paris — it was one of nine gold medals she has earned over a 12-year career that spans seven Paralympic games. Born in Ukraine but raised in Derby City, the multi-sport athlete has competed in cycling + rowing in the summer games and cross-country skiing in the winter.
Teddy Abrams
Since taking over the Louisville Orchestra as Music Director at the age of 27 in 2014, Teddy Abrams has reeled in the awards. He won a Grammy in 2024 and was also named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year in 2022.
Dr. Kevin Cosby
Since 2005, Dr. Kevin Cosby has served as the 13th President of Simmons College, helping the 146-year-old institution become accredited by the Association of Biblical Higher Education. In 2015, under Cosby’s leadership, Simmons was recognized by the US Department of Education as the 107th Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the nation — Louisville’s only HBCU. Cosby has also served as the pastor at St. Stephen Church for 45 years.
Jimmy Ellis
It’s not just Muhammad Ali’s Louisville. The late boxer Jimmy Ellis, who died in 2014, began as Ali’s sparring partner and eventually became a world champion himself — he held the WBA Heavyweight title from 1968 to 1970. Ellis was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004. After retiring from the ring, Ellis worked with the Louisville Metro Parks Department organizing athletic programs.
Ken Clay
At the forefront of the Louisville arts community, Ken Clay has served in leadership roles for several Louisville arts organizations — including a 21-year tenure as the Vice President of Programming at the Kentucky Center for the Arts — culminating in a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fund for the Arts. Clay also co-authored “Two Centuries of Black Louisville: A Photographic History.”
Nicole Scherzinger
Louisville’s not normally into celebrating cats, but we’ll let this one slide. Musical performer and actor Nicole Scherzinger was a member of the pop group the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2010 — the group’s two albums sold 55 million copies worldwide. Since then, the duPont Manual alum served as a panelist on “The Masked Singer,” performed in award-winning roles on Broadway, and voiced a character in Disney’s “Moana.”
Bonus: Take a look back at the 2024 Hometown Heroes class, including Static Major and Rajon Rondo.
