Southeast Missouri State Hall of Fame will induct six new members

The 2015 Southeast Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame class features four former student-athletes, the university's all-time winningest baseball coach and a former Director of Alumni Services.

Former athletes Trae Hastings (baseball, 1975-78), football players David Means (1970-73) and Willie Ponder (2001-02) and soccer and softball player Lindsey Pickering (2004-07) will be inducted alongside the university's all-time winningest baseball coach Mark Hogan (1995-2012) and Jane Stacy, who has been associated with Southeast since her freshman year at the university in 1973.

This year's class, which was announced in a press release by the athletic department Thursday afternoon, will be inducted on Feb. 19, 2016. It's the 14th class and also will be recognized during the Redhawks' men's and women's basketball team's doubleheader against Eastern Illinois on Feb. 20 at the Show Me Center.

Hastings, a left-handed pitcher who was part of Southeast's NCAA Division II College World Series third-place finish in 1976, holds all-time career records at the university with five shutouts, 239 strikeouts and 24 completes game and his career ERA of 2.30 ranks second in school history. He's tied for third with 22 careers win and tied for seventh in career starts (33), innings pitched (234 1/3) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.18).

Means, a defensive lineman and three-time all-conference pick, helped Southeast to the MIAA Conference title in 1973 and also was the recipient of the Vogelsang Award for most valuable lineman. He had 18 sacks the year before. Means was drafted in the 12th round by the Buffalo Bills, playing nine games with the team in 1974 before playing with the Canadian Football League's Calvary Stampedes for half a season.

Ponder rewrote the Southeast record book during his two seasons at Southeast. The former wide receiver still holds records for career receiving yards with 2,543 and receptions per game with 6.83. Until last Saturday he held the school record for career receiving touchdowns with 26. He has single-season records from 2002 with 87 pass receptions, 1,453 yards receiving, 15 receiving touchdowns and 7.25 receptions per game. Ponder, an Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association and Sports Network All-American and first-team all-conference, was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the NFL draft in 2003. He spent the 2004 season as a kick returner for the Giants and led the league with an average return of 26.9 yards. Ponder returned to Southeast in 2014 as an undergraduate assistant coach with the football team while he completed his degree.

Pickering began her Redhawks career as an outfielder for the softball team in 2004. She was a four-year starter, a second-team all-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 2006 and was picked for the All-OVC tournament team in 2004 and 2005. She joined the soccer team in 2005 and was the team's starting goalkeeper for three seasons, winning OVC Defensive Player of the Year along with first-team all-conference in 2005 and 2007. She was a second-team all-OVC selection in 2006. Pickering's 28 shutouts, 34 wins and 5,233 minutes played in goal are all-time career-bests at Southeast.

Hogan, a Cape Girardeau native who retired from Southeast after 18 seasons, is the program's all-time winningest coach with a record of 526-456-1. He led the program to an OVC regular-season championships in 2002 and OVC tournament titles in 1998 and 2002, which are also Southeast's only two NCAA tournament appearances. The team made the OVC tournament all 18 seasons, playing for the tournament championship seven times. Hogan's career record, compiled during his 31 seasons at the NCAA Division I and II levels and the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I level, is 911-713-3.

Stacy, who will be inducted in as Friends of the Redhawks, came to Southeast as a freshman in 1973 and was hired to be the Director of Alumni Services by former University President Mark Scully. She served as the alumni director until retiring in 2008. She helped start the Young Alumni Merit Award, Faculty Merit Award along with the St. Louis Alumni chapter and 11 other groups. She also was the First Lady of the University for nearly 10 years. Her former husband Dr. Bill W. Stacy was the University President. Stacy has been heavily involved in fundraising and the Development Office estimates she was "directly responsible for raising" more than $15 million for Southeast, according to the press release. Stacy also wrote a commemorative book, "The Athletic Hall of Fame of Southeast Missouri State University."

The Hall of Fame is currently made up of 86 individuals and 17 teams.