The Georgia State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2016 was announced on Thursday, an elite group of 10 that dates back to the 1970s. The group will be honored at the homecoming football game on Oct. 22, as the Panthers take on UT Martin.
The class includes two coaches, three male student-athletes, four female student-athletes and a husband-wife duo who has contributed greatly to the success of Georgia State.
After being honored on Oct. 22, the Class of 2016 will be brought back to campus in April for the annual Student-Athlete Banquet to receive their plaques as their names will be added to the Wall of Fame in the GSU Sports Arena.
The Class of 2016 includes: Terrance Brandon, Brownie Vaughn-Caldwell, Jenn Feenstra, Mike Hurst, Andrew Letherby, Bradley Logan, Lisbeth Meincke, Scottie O’Neal, Evita Rogers and contributors Mac and Brenda Williams.
The Hall of Fame Election Committee was appointed in the spring of 2015 with the task of creating guidelines for nomination and selection. This same group decided the inaugural class last year.
Nearly 100 nominees are now on the ballot for inductions into the Georgia State Athletics Hall of Fame. Georgia State started competing at the NCAA Division I level for the 1963-64 season, however, limited teams existed prior to that season.
Among the criteria for inclusion in the Georgia State Athletics Hall of Fame is a five-year window once a student-athlete exhausts their eligibility and a college degree. Coaches and administrators must be removed from their position for a minimum of two years.
More Information on Each Honoree:
Terrance Brandon (Men’s Basketball) – Played two stints at Georgia State from 1991-92 and 1993-96, finishing his career as the school’s all-time leader with 750 rebounds and third on the all-time list with 1,479 points. His season average of 20.8 points per game was third best in school history upon his graduation. He also finished his career with 25 double-doubles, third most in program history. A two-time all-conference selection and five-time conference player of the week, Brandon scored a career-high 39 points against SE Louisiana in 1994. On the glass, he recorded a career-high 21 rebounds against Centenary, while also grabbing 18 against Tulane as a junior.
Brownie Vaughn-Caldwell (Women’s Basketball & Softball) – Came to Georgia State nearly at the start of the softball program, playing for the Panthers from 1986 to 1989 and establishing several major records during her career. She was a three-time all-conference selection and earned TAAC MVP honors in 1988 on a team that went 42-20. Her .353 single-season batting average was the fifth best in program history while she used her speed on the base-paths to record 13 triples, fourth-most in a career in program history. She also set a school record with 21 steals in a season and then broke that mark a year later with 37.
She was equally impressive on the basketball court, standing 15th on the all-time scoring list with 1,148 point, fourth in assists with 477 and second with 247 career steals. She played in 110 games, making 100 starts, leading the team in assists all four years of college. She stands eighth on Georgia State’s all-time list with 277 made free throws and 12th in career field goal percentage (72.0).
Jenn Feenstra (Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field) – A four-time all-conference cross country runner and the 2004 Atlantic Sun Conference Runner of the Year, Feenstra qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championship and finished 44thin the nation of the 249 runners who qualified. She earned NCAA All-South recognition with a second place finish earlier that year. On the track side, she was also a four-time all-conference honoree who qualified for the NCAA National Championship in Indoor Track and finished 10th in the nation. She holds the school record for fastest time on a cross country course and has four school records in track. In 29 cross country meets, finished first 12 times and was in the top 10 in 23 of those races. Before graduating she became an Academic All-American and won Georgia State’s Ron Curry Determination Award for overcoming injury and missing a season.
Mike Hurst (Baseball) – Until just last year, was the winningest baseball coach in program history after coming to Georgia State in 1992 as an assistant coach when the University reinstated a program that had been dormant for five years. He served as interim head coach for the final 12 games of the 1993 season and then was elevated to head coach beginning in 1994. He went on to compile 293 wins in 13-plus seasons and still stands as the only player or coach in program history to have his number retired (30). He coached All-America players Mark Mortimer and Jason Glover, Freshman All-Americans Garrett Greer, Rusty Bennett and Brett Strickland and numerous all-conference and all-region standouts. His programs recorded multiple wins over top 25 opponents and he is still recognized throughout Atlanta and the southeast for his work with youth baseball players.
Andrew Letherby (Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field) – Recognized as Georgia State’s “most decorated” runner, Letherby was a three-time conference runner of the year, four-time all-conference honoree and qualified for the NCAA Championship. Upon his graduation, he held the Georgia State record in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters as well as the cross country course record at Panthersville. He also earned all-conference recognition in track & field. After twice being named Georgia State Male-Athlete of the Year, Letherby continued to run, earning eighth place honors at the 2003 Peachtree Road Race and 2004 Boston Marathon. He also won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2002.
Bradley Logan (Baseball) – Finished his four-year Georgia State career in 2010 as the school’s all-time leader in nearly every offensive category, including: Hits (288) Total Bases (471) Run Batted In (208) Doubles (63) Runs Scored (221) At-Bats (855) and Games Played (229). Logan also ranked fourth with 38 home runs and had a career .336 batting average and .551 slugging percentage. He ended his career as the winningest player in the history of the program, playing on teams that won 131 victories in four seasons. A two-time all-conference selection, he was named the CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2009 after homering in four-straight games. By winning the 2009 CAA Championship, he led the Panthers to a school-record 39 victories and Georgia State’s only conference title and NCAA berth. He added another home run (fifth-straight) to open the NCAA Regional just across town at Georgia Tech. After Georgia State, Bradley went on to play Independant professional baseball. He would return to Georgia State baseball to coach from 2012-14.
Lisbeth Meincke (Women’s Golf) – A four-time conference tournament champion during her four years at Georgia State (2002-06), Meincke rewrote the GSU record books while winning a school-record seven tournaments. She recorded nine top-5 finishes during the 2004-05 season, a school-record by nearly twice as many. Meincke also recorded five top-5 finishes during the 2003-04 season, tied for the second-most and four during the 2005-06 season. She recorded 10 top-10 finishes during the 2004-05 season and eight during the 2005-06 season, the top-two marks in school history. She led Georgia State to an NCAA Regional appearance as a freshman and holds school-record for single-season stroke average (73.63) record to this day.
Scottie O’Neal (Men’s Soccer) – One of the winningest coaches in GSU history, finished his 11-year career with a 143-57-4 (.711) record, winning conference championships in 1983 and 1986, while advancing to the championship game in 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984 and 1985. O’Neal coached 30 all-conference players including two player of the year award winners. He had the top seven seasons in victories in school history, led by 18 wins in 1984. He was also the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 1978, 1984 and 1986. O’Neal was inducted into the State of Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame posthumously in 2002.
Evita Rogers (Women’s Basketball) – A two-time first-team all-conference honoree who also earned all-conference third-team recognition, Rogers played on three NCAA postseason teams. She finished her career second in games played (121) after playing on four postseason teams. She was a two-time conference tournament MVP and fourth all-time in points scored with 1,728 and eighth in rebounds with 793. She set a school record for career field goal percentage. Rogers earned Academic All-District honors and was a three-time all-academic selection who played professionally overseas after Georgia State. She finished her career with a 14.3 scoring average, 10th in school history and made 645 field goals, fourth-most. Her 53.3 field goal percentage still ranks second today and her 400 made free throws is also second. Made 108 starts, tied for second-most in school history and recorded 21 double-double games, eighth-most in school history.
Mac and Brenda Williams (Contributors) – A pair who have been associated with Georgia State for nearly 50 years and given countless hours, dedication and financial resources to help support Panther student-athletes. Mac was a student-athlete for Georgia State from 1967-70 in track & field. To this day, he still holds the records for shot put and discus. He has been associated with athletics and the University in many different ways, including serving as the liaison between the athletic department and Greek Life on campus. Brenda is also a Georgia State graduate who can been seen in the stands with her husband at many sporting events and other campus related activities.
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