2025.05.13

Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame Features Six Distinguished Inductees

Impressive group brings wealth of excellence and accomplishment on the ice, bike and gridiron, as well as leading top basketball and swimming programs

The Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame will host its annual induction ceremony on Friday, June 13 at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson. The inductees are Ron Aitken, Renee Brown, Deryk Engelland, T.J. Lavin and Horrace Smith and Rick Traasdahl. Including this induction class, the Hall of Fame now consists of 133 members.

“The Class of 2025 consists of a tremendous group of individuals that accomplished so much in their respective sports and careers,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Jim Lambright. “Our diverse list of inductees includes one of the top swimming coaches in the country in Ron Aitken, a pioneering executive that assisted in launching the WNBA in Reneé Brown, the de facto leader of the inaugural season’s Vegas Golden Knights in Deryk Engelland, BMX Champion and host T.J. Lavin and Horrace Smith and Rick Traasdahl, two of the most successful and innovative coaches and administrators in Southern Nevada. We’re honored to bestow upon them the state’s highest sports recognition by welcoming them into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.”

After a successful career as a swimmer at UNLV, Aitken quickly climbed the coaching ranks, being named the head coach of the Sandpipers in 1996 and the head coach of the Bishop Gorman High School swim team in 1999. Now, with nearly 30 years of coaching experience, Aitken has built an impressive resume on the local level serving as the executive director, head coach and CEO of the Sandpipers of Nevada and on the national and international level with USA Swimming. A testament to his training and coaching style, Sandpiper swimmers have qualified for Olympic trials in every event in all strokes. Notably, Aitken has developed eight Olympians, representing three countries since 2016 (Bowe Becker, Katie Grimes, Cody Miller, Bella Sims, Erica Sullivan, Claire Weinstein for the U.S.; Ilya Kharun for Canada; and Rebecca Diaconescu for Romania). In 2022, he was named as an official coach, and one of the few club coaches, on the U.S. World Championship team that included Kharun, Grimes, Sims and Weinstein.

Brown is one of the most accomplished coaches and leaders to come out of the Las Vegas area. A native of Henderson, Nev., and graduate of Basic High School, she played basketball at UNLV and then became a coach, starting at Cannon Junior High School. She later went on to serve as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball teams at Kansas, Stanford and San Jose State. As an assistant coach for Stanford under Tara VanDerveer, her teams won the NCAA tournament in 1990 and earned a trip to the Final Four in 1991. During the 1995-96 season, Brown served as an assistant coach to VanDerveer for the gold medal-winning USA Basketball Women's National Team in Colorado Springs and later served on the USAB Board of Directors, chaired the USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Selection Committee, among other committee positions. Later, she was in the epicenter of the launch and growth of the WNBA, serving as Director of Player Personnel and later was promoted to Senior Director, as well as Vice President.

Engelland is one of the most influential hockey players to have played in Las Vegas. Prior to his NHL career, he spent several seasons playing in the ECHL with the Las Vegas Wranglers. After investing more than six years in the minor leagues, he finally broke into the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following stints with the Penguins and in Calgary, the Vegas Golden Knights selected him on June 21, 2017 in the NHL Expansion Draft. Affectionately known as a member of the “Golden Misfits,” Engelland led by example, served as the de facto leader of that team and wore an ‘A’ on his jersey. After the tragic events of 1 October, he memorably addressed the crowd just nine days later at T-Mobile Arena prior to the Golden Knights’ inaugural season opener. Following that incredible inaugural season that saw the Golden Knights advance to the Stanley Cup Final, he was nominated by his team for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities and gives back to the community. He was also named as a finalist for the Mark Messier Leadership Award – and later won on June 20, 2018. He remains with the team today as a special assistant to the owner.

A Las Vegas native, Lavin is considered by many to be one of the greatest BMX riders of all time (freestyle). Drawn to BMX racing as a young child, he showed potential as a top contender early in his career, winning his first pro contest, King of the Dirt, at 19. Lavin later found more success in the sport and launched a successful brand that still endures today. His BMX career highlights include numerous championships and titles, notably being named as the CFB Champion, DK Dirt Circuit Champion and Gravity Games Champion, among others. He also won three gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze medals at the X Games. Lavin was named “King of the Dirt” in 1995. Lavin’s amazing career was not without challenges. He sustained multiple injuries, including the crash at the 2010 Dew Tour event in Las Vegas. He was put into a medically induced coma and developed a case of pneumonia shortly after. While some of the effects from the crash still linger, he has continued to persevere. Today, he has made a transition from thrill seeker to host of MTV’s show The Challenge.

Smith and Traasdahl are two of most successful educators and coaches in Southern Nevada. A three-sport star at Las Vegas High School in football, basketball and track, Smith matriculated to Brigham Young University. He returned to Las Vegas and had a tremendous career building the character of young men and women as a coach, teacher and administrator. He served as the head football coach at Western High School from 1973-84, winning more than 100 games. He also led Bonanza High School from 1985-90, taking a winless team to 9-2 and playoff appearance in his second season. Traasdahl grew up in Boulder City and graduated from Las Vegas High School where he was known as an excellent athlete as three-year letterman in both football and baseball. From there, he earned his B.A. from Southern Utah University. He also returned to Las Vegas and became a life-long teacher and coach in the Clark County School District for 30 years. He shaped many lives both on and off the field and will always be remembered as "coach" by students and friends. He coached and taught at Clark High School, Valley High School, Western High School and Bonanza High School during his career.

The Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization committed to recognizing the outstanding achievements by Southern Nevada athletes, both in the world of sports and the local community. Proceeds from the event will be donated to organizations committed to the support and enhancement of Southern Nevada youth through active participation in programs designed to promote leadership, values and character through sports.