WKU’s first two-time All-American basketball player has passed away. Carlisle Towery was 92 years old. Towery earned All-American honors his junior and senior seasons at WKU, in 1940 and 1941. Playing under legendary coach E.A. Diddle, Towery was the first Hilltopper to score 1,000 points, and he averaged a then-record 17.1 points a game as a senior.
Towery was inducted into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993, and his number 42 jersey is one of just six that hangs from the rafters at Diddle Arena.
Towery died at his home in Marion, Kentucky Sunday. A memorial service will be held at 1pm, Saturday, December 1st, at Myers Funeral Home in Marion. Visitation will begin at the funeral home at 11 a.m. before the service.
