WATCH: Super Bowl Champ Jamel Dean to be Inducted into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame 2025 Class
By Space Coast Daily // May 22, 2025
Dean was among former Cocoa High School head coach John Wilkinson's best two-way players
2020 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame: Cocoa Tigers Football’s Jamel Dean’s Tenacity, Accomplishments Earn Him Induction into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
SUPER BOWL CHAMP: Jamel Dean started in Super Bowl LV, recorded four solo tackles, and deflected one pass as the Bucs routed the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9 in 2021.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460. CLICK HERE to see the 2025 Class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Jamel Dean was among former Cocoa High School head coach John Wilkinson’s best two-way players during his Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame career for the Tigers.
Playing on back-to-back 11-2 state playoff teams for coach Wilkinson, Dean was a two-time Florida first-team Class 4A all-state pick at Cocoa High, totaling 975 offensive yards, including 22 receptions and 15 touchdowns in 2014 to earn all-state honors as a receiver.
He also had 38 tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception in 2013. He also had seven pass breakups as a senior and scored nine touchdowns as a junior.
In 2013, Dean was named Friday Night Locker Room – Space Coast Daily Player of the Game for Week 9 as he had 135 return yards (68-yard kickoff return for a TD and 67-yard punt return) and 45 yards receiving.
In 2014, Dean was selected as the Brevard County Player of the Year and the Florida Athletic Coaches Association’s District 12 MVP and was among the top prep cornerback prospects in the nation, ranked No. 32 by 247Sports, No. 37 by Rivals and a Top 10 defensive back in the state of Florida.
Despite his knee injuries during his prep career, Dean was a highly recruited prospect. He spent a semester at Ohio State and was medically disqualified from playing football by Ohio State due to having suffered multiple knee injuries in high school.
He sat out 2015 and transferred from Columbus to Auburn, which cleared him to play. Dean suffered another knee injury in the preseason 2016 camp, which sidelined him for the year.
Finally healthy in 2017, he started 11 of 14 games for Auburn, collecting 43 stops, 2.5 for loss, and eight pass breakups. He started 11 of 12 games played in 2018, recording 30 stops, two for loss, two interceptions, and nine pass breakups.
Returning as a starter at cornerback during the 2018 season, Dean had 30 tackles and 11 pass breakups for the season – and earned SEC Academic Honor Roll and Academic Top Tiger honors, graduating with a weighted 3.8 GPA.
Related Story:High Impact Player Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Recognized as Among Best Young Players in NFL
The 6-foot-1-inch, 206-pound Dean turned pro as a redshirt junior after amassing 19 career pass breakups and two picks as a two-year starter. He raised his NFL stock at the Combine with 98th-percentile SPARQ results, including 4.3-flat jets and a 41-inch vertical.
Dean was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2019 National Football League draft with the 94th overall pick.
Dean made his regular-season debut in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. He recorded six tackles and four pass deflections. In Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded four pass deflections and his first career interception.
In Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Dean recorded five pass deflections, and in Week 16, Dean had one tackle, one pass deflection, and an interception.
Related Story:Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Lineman Jawaan Taylor is Ironman in National Football League
Dean finished his rookie season with 21 tackles, 17 pass deflections, two interceptions, and one forced fumble, solidifying his status as a rookie on the rise.
While finishing tied for second among all rookie cornerbacks in interceptions, Dean finished first in pass deflections among rookies with 17, which was also good for the Top 5 in the NFL among all corners.
Dean joined his former Cocoa High teammates, tackle Jawaan Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars and cornerback Chauncey Gardner-Johnson of the New Orleans Saints, on the 22-man 2019 Pro Football Focus NFL All-Rookie Team.
On February 7, 2021, Dean started in Super Bowl LV, recorded four solo tackles, and deflected one pass as the Bucs routed the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9 and earned his first and only Super Bowl ring of his career.
He is the son of Yolanda Kimbrough and James Dean and has four brothers, including Derrick Jr., James Jr., Jamaine, and Jayden. In May 2018, he received his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts.
A wild first half continues!
Jamel Dean picks off Watson on the deep pass! #GoBucs
📺: #HOUvsTB on @NFLNetwork
Watch now on your 📱: https://t.co/paZyVzFJe5
How to watch on any device: https://t.co/rtSXeNkV7u pic.twitter.com/DtJOSobv1S— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2019
THE 2025 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will occur at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne on Saturday, May 24. FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, or to make a reservation, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-615-8111.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME
The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony is presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony, presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin, will be held on the evening of May 24. The Meet-and-Greet will begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program will start at 7 p.m.
Tom and Suzie Wasdin are longtime Brevard County entrepreneurs, community supporters, and philanthropists. Tom, an NCAA Final Four basketball coach and Brevard Sports Ambassador, was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
The meet-and-greet will include an opportunity to talk with the area’s sports royalty. Dinner and the induction proceeding, which will include compelling video tributes to each inductee, will follow.
The Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards will be held Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., also at Eastern Florida State College.
During the Breakfast of Champions, more than 40 awards will be presented to the best of the 2024-2025 male and female high school student-athletes in each sport. For sponsorship information, call 321-323-4460 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.
Both the Breakfast of Champions and the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame events will be streamed live on Space Coast Daily TV.
Health First, Erdman Automotive, Eastern Florida State College, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Brevard Public Schools, Space Coast Office of Tourism, EDC of the Space Coast, 4Ever Young Merritt Island, and Savings Safari sponsor the 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event and the Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards.
To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.
INDUCTEES SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES
Nominees are chosen in four categories: professional sports, college sports, high school sports, and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.
SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025
■ PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Randy Pobst, Auto racing; Juwaan Taylor, Football
■ COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Paulette King, Basketball, Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Steve Freeman, Soccer; Bryan Cook, Baseball
■ PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Andi Sellers, Soccer; Kaira Simmons, Track & Field; Jayvan Boggs, Football
■ AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Alli Penovich, Free Diving; Peter Blount, Track & Field; Caylor Williams, Wrestling
■ COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Doug Butler, Cross Country and Track; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball; Don Smith, Basketball
• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta
• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn
• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan
■ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Larry Garrison, Clint Hurdle
■ SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Rusty Buchanan
■ CHALLENGER AWARD INDUCTEE: Joshua Dillon
■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa Tigers Football
■ LEGACY CHAMPIONS: Merritt Island Baseball, 1999-2000
■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Tim Wakefield
Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has inducted over 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches, and sports personalities. Eastern Florida State’s Titan Fieldhouse on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway, which runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.
To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME
