2024 FCSAA Women's Basketball Inductee: Carla Williams
Carla Williams will join Chanda Rigby in the 2024 Class of the FCSAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
A gifted basketball player, coach, scholar, educator and mentor, Carla Williams was, perhaps, the best to ever wear a Pensacola State College Pirates uniform.
An academic and athletic standout at Graceville High School, Williams led her team to a state championship in 1992, then played two seasons at Pensacola State College for Hall of Fame coach Vicki Carson, where she continued to excel in both the classroom and on the court. In each of her seasons, she was named All-Academic, All-Panhandle Conference and All-FCSAA. In 1993, she was named to the FCSAA All-Tournament Team and still holds the FCSAA Tournament record for most free throws made and attempted in both a game and tournament.
After graduating from Pensacola State, Williams continued her collegiate career in Tallahassee, playing at Florida State University, where she started 52 games and scored 770 points from 1994 to 1996. Almost 30 years later, Williams' name continues to dot the Seminoles' record book. She still holds the single-season record for free throws made and attempted.
Williams again was lauded for success as a student, earning ACC All-Academic honors.
With her playing days over, Williams, who graduated from FSU in 1996 with a degree in management, made her way back to Pensacola State College, where she became an associate professor, spending more than 24 years working in the Collegiate High and Mathematics and Computer Science Departments. Williams went on to earn a master's in education, as well as an education specialist degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of West Florida.
Williams also remained heavily invested in the Pirates' athletics department. After initially serving as an assistant coach on Carson's staff for eight seasons, she became a tutor for the student-athletes and worked as a table official for home basketball games. In 2006, she was presented the Academy of Teaching Excellence's Outstanding New Faculty Award.
Williams was active in her church, as well as in the Pensacola and Escambia County communities, serving as a mentor, tutor and advisor to many young athletics.
Williams, who passed away in May 2022, was inducted into Pensacola State's Athletics Hall of Fame later that year and had her #22 retired by the College in 2023.
Determined to celebrate Williams' life permanently, Pensacola State College has established the Carla Williams Memorial Endowed Scholarship to help lift, inspire and support PSC student-athletes now and long into the future.