WJB Professional Athletes
The following were former student athletes at Walter J Baird Middle School. Each of the following found success in college and professional athletics.
Gail Corder Hassell
played for WJB 1975 - 1976 in the first year's of the new school. During Gail's time playing basketball, the game was 6 on 6 and she was a 6'1" post who went on to play four years at Lebanon High School where her teams went to three consecutive state tournament appearances: 1978, 1979, 1980.
In the 1979 state tournament, she scored 42 points in a 51-48 win over Maryville Heritage in the Class AAA quarterfinals.
During her Senior year, the game of women's basketball switched to the 5 on 5 format. The Lebanon Devilettes was the only team to return to the State Tournament under the new format.
Gail recorded over 1,000 rebounds in her career, was a four-time all-district pick, three-time all region, two-time All Midstate and was twice named Associated Press All-State.
Gail went on to play collegiately at Belmont University.
Belmont stats;
- 1,814 career points - 5th all-time at Belmont
- 942 rebounds - 5th all-time at Belmont
- Belmont's very first NAIA All-American in 1983
- Back-to back 1981 VSAC Champions
- District 24 Champions
- Honored into the All-Striplin Gymnasium Team, 2001
Gail played professionally in Caracas, Venezuela.
Chris Price
played for WJB 1984 - 1986. He was a graduate of Lebanon High School and MTSU. He was the first professional baseball player in Wilson County, playing for the Kansas City Royals organization. He was a stand out athlete at LHS, playing basketball and baseball. When he left baseball, he became a contractor in town and built houses in Five Oaks and Richmond Hills.
Chris tragically died in a motorcycle accident in 2009, leaving a wife, three children, and a step child. His memory lives on through the Chris Price scholarship and the Chris Price Memorial Ride Scholarship.
Elliott Carson
played for WJB 1989 - 1992. He went on to play at Lebanon High School through 1996. His senior team went on to the third round of the TSSAA playoffs. Elliott continued to play football at Vanderbilt University. He was named 1999 All-SEC tight end.
Elliott signed a free-agent contract to play with the Arizona Cardinals, but had a season ending injury during pre-season. His next opportunity came with NFL Europe, where he played and had an outstanding season for the Scottish Claymores. Carson ended his career during the next preseason playing with the Tennessee Titans.
Jasmine Hassell
played basketball at WJB from 2003 - 2005. She went on to be a part of two TSSAA Girls Basketball State Championships at Wilson Central High School while also being recognized as the 2008 & 2009 AAA Miss Basketball. Jasmine was also named a McDonald's All-American. After leaving Wilson Central, Jasmine went on to star at the University of Georgia and being named 2013 All-SEC 2nd team.
The Indiana Fever selected Jasmine 21st overall in the 2013 WNBA draft. Jasmine has played for Indiana and Seattle during her time in the WNBA. She finished out her playing career in both France and Israel.
Recently, Jasmine was named to Wilson Central High Schools inaugural Hall of Fame class.
Mike Jones, Jr.
played football at WJB in 2012. After high school, Mike went on to play on the defensive side of the ball at Clemson and LSU. In the spring of 2023, Mike signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons football team of the NFL.
Zion Logue
played basketball at WJB during his 6th & 7th grade years at WJB from 2012-2014. Zion went on to play at the University of Georgia, and eventually was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2024.
In the fall of 2024, Zion was picked up by the Buffalo Bills and played in live action on Sundays.
Two years later in 2026, Zion was traded to the Cleveland Browns.
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