Former Helias Catholic High School coach and administrator Denny Hughes will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame alongside the 1987–89 Crusader baseball teams.

Denny Hughes coached Crusader baseball for eight seasons with a 137-38 record. He led the 1987, 1988, and 1989 Crusader baseball teams to Class 3 state championships, at one point holding a state record with 55 consecutive wins. Coach Hughes’ teams also won seven conference titles and seven district titles, with four Final Four appearances. He later coached baseball at Westminster College for eight years, with a record of 169-118, earning a conference Coach of the Year honor in 2013. A 1976 graduate of Helias Catholic High School, Denny Hughes played Crusader baseball and basketball, helping bring both teams to conference titles and earning All-State honors in basketball as a senior. He graduated from the University of Central Missouri and earned a master’s degree from Lincoln University, serving as a longtime teacher and later administrator at Helias Catholic, and was inducted into the Helias Catholic High School Hall of Fame in 2011.

Helias Catholic is one of six high schools in Missouri to have won three consecutive state baseball championships — in 1987, 1988, and 1989. The 1987 team beat Dexter 7-3 in the finals, finishing 22-5. A year later, the 1988 Crusaders beat St. Dominic 11-2 in the finals, ending the year with a perfect 24-0 record. The 1989 team beat Branson 13-3 and finished 21-2, outsourcing opponents 33-4.

The 1988 team still holds Helias Catholic High School records for wins (26), batting average (.397), RBI (240), and stolen bases (102). Rob McCurren holds the school record for season batting average (.544) and season hits (43) in 1988, as well as career hits (101) from 1986–88. Chris Wyrick, who recently retired from his 25-year tenure as head baseball coach for Helias Catholic, holds the school record for season home runs (14) in 1989 and career RBI (82) from 1987–89. Brent Schnieders holds the school record for season pitching wins (15) in 1988.

Denny Hughes and the 1987–89 Crusader baseball teams will be officially inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at an enshrinement ceremony October 20.