FOUR ALL-TIME GREATS SET TO BE INDUCTED INTO UT MARTIN ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME ON SATURDAY
10/22/2018 8:40:00 AM | Baseball, Football, General, Softball, Volleyball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018 has been announced as former softball player Jenny Bain (2009-12), former volleyball player Kasey Elswick Copeland (2009-12), former football player Brady Wahlberg (2002-05) and former baseball player Dick Windbigler (1970-73) will be officially inducted during the 35th annual Letter Winner's Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 27.
This year's Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at the Student Life Center at 7:30 a.m., in conjunction with UT Martin Homecoming festivities.
Bain led UT Martin to four different Ohio Valley Conference championships and the school's first two NCAA Regional appearances in her career. The program's only three-time All-OVC first team honoree, she was part of the 2010 Skyhawk squad that won a school-record 47 games while she was also a key member of the 2012 team that tallied a school-record 23 OVC victories. The Hendersonville, Tenn. native was OVC Freshman of the Year in 2009 and is UT Martin's all-time leader in games played (238), hits (237), doubles (54), home runs (40), runs batted in (170), total bases (411) and extra-base hits (94).
"Being inducted into the Hall of Fame shares with me and others that they are just not working for today but for the future," Bain said. "It is truly a blessing to be inducted – I am honored and privileged to be a part of such a great program."
A Louisville, Ky. native, Copeland is the OVC's all-time digs leader, scooping up 2,606 digs over her four seasons. She shattered the NCAA single-season record with 852 digs in 2011, nabbing AVCA honorable mention All-American status during her junior campaign. She was just the third Skyhawk to earn All-OVC accolades in three different years and was the OVC Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2010 and 2011). She set a school record for most OVC Defensive Player of the Week awards in a career (10) and claimed the program's single-match digs record with 46 (in only four sets) at Eastern Kentucky in 2011.
"It is an incredible honor to be recognized in the same category as the great athletes who have previously been inducted into the UT Martin Hall of Fame," Copeland said. "It means a lot to me but I also hope it means a lot to all of my teammates, coaches and family who have supported me along the way."
Wahlberg left UT Martin as the program's all-time leader in passing yards (6,247) and total offense (7,387 yards). The Panama City, Fla. native was an All-OVC quarterback as a senior and left tied with longtime Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo for the third-most completions in OVC history (584). He accounted for 51 overall touchdowns (35 passing, 16 rushing) and is still the school's single-game leader in pass completions (44) and pass attempts (65) – both coming against Jacksonville State in 2003. He was one of just three males to earn an OVC Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2004-05 season, which is considered the highest individual honor an OVC student-athlete can receive.
"Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is definitely a big honor," Wahlberg said. "I look at this as a team accomplishment – it means that I was fortunate to play with other great players. I'm thankful that I was able to be a true student-athlete and pursue my academic goals without any restrictions while playing football."
Hailing from Mansfield, Ohio, Windbigler helped guide UT Martin to a 94-43-1 record and the school's first two trips to the NCAA Tournament during his playing career. He still ranks first in program history with 26 career victories and was named an All-Gulf South Conference honoree in 1973 after posting an 8-0 record with a 2.00 ERA. He was the starting pitcher in UT Martin's 1971 NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament game, which was the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. He also served as UT Martin's head coach in 1976, guiding the then-Pacers to a 23-16 overall record.
"I spent my whole life playing baseball every day of the year so this is just like being inducted into Cooperstown (at the National Baseball Hall of Fame) for me," Windbigler said. "I couldn't have asked for a better place to come to school than UT Martin."
