ATHLETE
Gwen Rucker Duncan was born in 1990 in Oklahoma City, OK, to Keith McGlon and Stacy Rucker. She has six siblings, Kayla Rucker, Kim Rucker, Terrel Rucker, Ashlee McGlon, Makahla McGlon and Chasidy Tubbs. When Gwen was 8 years old, her mom and three siblings moved from Oklahoma City to Lexington, and it was at this time that her mom married her dad, Byron Ingram. Gwen attended Squires Elementary, Crawford Middle, and Henry Clay High School. Her athletic career began at Crawford Middle at the age of 13 on the school’s basketball team under Coach Mike Graves. She was then introduced to AAU and YMCA basketball under Mike Graves, Bruce Coles, Coach Tone, Michelle Green, and Donna Murphy, playing on the Central Kentucky Angels AAU team from age 13 until she graduated from high school in 2008. In her freshman year of high school, Gwen began to play volleyball for Henry Clay under Coach Dale Grupe and basketball under Coach Scott Cromwell. She played AAU/Club Volleyball for one year, her senior year, for the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Association (KIVA).
While playing basketball at Henry Clay, Gwen averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds per game. She finished her senior year shooting 63 percent from the field and 85 percent from the foul line. Gwen also earned All-State Honors during her junior and senior seasons and was named All-City and All-Region all four years. She helped Henry Clay advance to the Sweet 16 her senior year and was named 11th Region Player of the Year. She was also nominated for Miss Kentucky Basketball in 2008. In volleyball, The hard hitter was named MVP and Outstanding Blocker all four years and First Team All-State her senior year.
Gwen was recruited heavily in high school to play basketball and volleyball. She signed a full basketball scholarship, as a two-sport athlete for the University of Louisville with a volleyball/basketball combination. Her freshman year, Gwen started for U of L alongside WNBA #1 Draft Pick Angel McCoughtry and helped get her team to the 2009 NCAA Division 1 Final Four and then on to the NCAA D1 Championship Game.The Cardinals fell short of the championship title, losing to Maya Moore and the University of Connecticut in the final game.
In volleyball, Gwen was selected as an American Volleyball Coaches Association (ACVA) All-American her junior and senior years. Gwen was a two-time member of the USA Women’s A2 National Team, was named the 2012 MVP of the Big East Volleyball Championship and selected for All Big East team honors. She led her team with 141 blocks and a .426 hitting percentage, both of which ranked nationally. Toward the end of her senior year, Gwen began meeting with coaches about her potential to pursue professional volleyball overseas. Upon graduating, Gwen worked with an agent who helped get her first professional volleyball contract in Southeast Asia. Gwen was able to make a living traveling the world and playing a sport she loved. She played four seasons overseas in Azerbaijan, Romania, and Turkey before returning home.
Once Gwen returned home, and with the help of her mom and her dad, she used her degree in Math and Actuary Science to start her career in Data Science, in which she has been working for the last nine years. Gwen is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Machine Learning and Computer Science at Georgia Tech.
In 2018, Gwen married her best friend, her rock, her A-1, Clarence Duncan, Jr., and they get the pleasure and headache of raising two children whom she adores, Clarence Duncan, III (CJ), and Elle Nora Duncan (Ms. Elle).
