{"id":227257,"date":"2025-09-14T22:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T22:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/227257\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T22:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T22:57:10","slug":"sophie-cunningham-admits-to-tearing-up-on-video-call-with-hc-kellie-harper-over-missouri-hof-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/227257\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Cunningham Admits to Tearing Up on Video Call With HC Kellie Harper Over Missouri HOF News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham described the moment she learned about her Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame induction as a deeply emotional one. The WNBA veteran, known for her toughness, said the news came during a surprise video call with her former college\u2019s new coach, Kellie Harper.<\/p>\n

Cunningham admitted she \u201cshed tears\u201d after hearing the announcement, a milestone connecting her storied university career with her ongoing success in professional basketball.<\/p>\n

Why Did the Hall of Fame News Mean So Much to Sophie Cunningham?<\/p>\n

Sophie Cunningham, a Columbia native and former Missouri Tigers star, recently reflected on her induction into the Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame. The Indiana Fever guard admitted the honor caught her completely off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know Kelly was going to be on the call,\u201d Cunningham said, recalling the moment Missouri head coach<\/a> Kellie Harper delivered the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually canceled it, and was like, \u2018I\u2019m flying to California, I\u2019m on vacation.\u2019 But when I finally got on, they told me, and I don\u2019t really tear up very often. Maybe if I get injured and tear my MCL, I will. But when they did that, once I got off the phone, I called my family, and just the emotions rushed over me of just feeling so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Her gratitude, however, extended far beyond just a personal achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just me. It was the community of people that got me here,\u201d she explained. Cunningham noted her deep ties to the program, having grown up just minutes from the campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bleed black and gold to the core. Our whole family does. It\u2019s part of the reason why I committed here out of the eighth grade. I didn\u2019t care who offered me what, any of that type of noise. I knew I wanted to come here. I wanted to put Mizzou women\u2019s basketball on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: Sophie Cunningham Shares What She Truly Thinks of Alma Mater Missouri\u2019s New HC Kellie Harper<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cunningham certainly left her mark at Missouri from 2015 to 2019, becoming a four-time All-SEC selection, including three first-team honors. Calling her Hall of Fame recognition a \u201cteam award,\u201d Cunningham emphasized the crucial role her teammates and coaches played.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here without my teammates,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel blessed for the platform, blessed for the teams that I got to play here with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her successful college career led to a seamless transition to the WNBA in 2019, when the Phoenix Mercury drafted her 13th overall. Over six seasons, she averaged 7.7 points and 1.4 assists per game before being traded this year to the Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n

Although a torn MCL in August\u00a0ended her 2025 season prematurely, she views the Hall of Fame induction as a powerful and timely reminder of her journey and the foundation she built at Missouri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham described the moment she learned about her Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame induction…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":227258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1317,1337,1338,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-227257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115205127811550045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}