Sports
5 Super Athletes With Ties To Hamden
From a brand partner: Meet five standout athletes with ties to the area whose accomplishments have made their mark on the sports world.
Sports have a way of teaching invaluable life lessons — building character, fostering teamwork and strengthening the bonds within a community. In the Hamden area, these values have shaped some truly remarkable athletes from different eras, whose accomplishments continue to inspire.
Patch is celebrating five standout athletes whose achievements have left a lasting mark on our community. This list is just a snapshot, with countless other athletes helping shape the rich sports culture in our area.
1. Scott Burrell (Basketball)
A Hamden High School standout, Scott Burrell was drafted in the first round of both the MLB and NBA drafts, a feat only a handful of athletes have ever matched. After starring at UConn in both baseball and basketball, he went on to an eight-year NBA career and won a championship with the 1998 Chicago Bulls.
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2. Alexis Holmes (Track & Field)
A Hamden native, Alexis Holmes anchored the U.S. women's 4x400m relay team to gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, also finishing sixth in the individual 400m final with a personal-best time. She has since added multiple World Championship gold medals to her resume, cementing her as one of the top 400m runners in the world.
3. Jami Kranich (Soccer)
A Hamden High School alum, Jami Kranich starred as a four-year goalkeeper at Villanova, where she was named Big East Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year in 2012 and helped Team USA win the U-20 World Cup. She went on to play professionally for the Boston Breakers before shifting into coaching, most recently as an assistant at Boston College.
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4. Jonathan Quick (Hockey)
Jonathan Quick attended Hamden High School before transferring to Avon Old Farms to focus on hockey, eventually becoming one of the NHL's top goaltenders with the Los Angeles Kings. He was named MVP of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs and won two Stanley Cup titles with the Kings.
5. Rich Diana (Football)
A Hamden native, Rich Diana starred at running back for Yale before being drafted by the Miami Dolphins, where he played four seasons in the NFL. He later became an orthopedic surgeon, a career switch that made him one of the more unusual stories to come out of Hamden's football history.
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