MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES 2020 HALL OF FAME CLASS
Six iconic names in MAC history—Stevi Large Gruber, Bryan Bullington, Margo Jonker, Wally Szczerbiak, Ellen Herman-Kimball and Briana Shook—inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today the 2020 MAC Hall of Fame Induction Class as six new members are inducted in the MAC Hall of Fame.
The six inductees are Stevi Large Gruber (Akron, women’s track & field), Bryan Bullington (Ball State, baseball), Margo Jonker (Central Michigan, softball), Wally Szczerbiak (Miami, men’s basketball), Ellen Herman-Kimball (Ohio, volleyball) and Briana Shook (Toledo, women’s track & field).
“We have such a storied history within our Conference and it is important to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of our former students, coaches and administrators, specifically these six individuals, and their achievements during their time competing in the Mid-American Conference,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, MAC Commissioner. “We are honored to welcome this year’s class to the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame.”
“The Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame is a testament to the achievements of those that have competed and served in this great Conference,” added Steinbrecher.
The MAC Hall of Fame was approved by the MAC Council of Presidents in 1987. The charter class was inducted in 1988 and subsequent classes were added in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994. After six induction classes, the MAC Hall of Fame maintained 52 members until it was reinstated in May of 2012. This year’s class brings the number of MAC Hall of Fame inductees to 102 individuals from 15 classes.
2020 MAC Hall of Fame Class bios:
Stevi Large Gruber – Akron (women’s track & field):
Stevi Large Gruber became just the third individual national champion in Akron athletics history. As a senior, Gruber shattered her own school and Mid-American Conference record twice in the hammer throw on June 12, 2009, en route to national champion honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
A four-time first-team All-American, Gruber held school records in the hammer, indoor and outdoor shot put, discus, and weight throw. She had also held the MAC’s all-time and championship records in weight throw and hammer at the time of her graduation. As a junior, Gruber was the 2008 NCAA runner-up in weight throw.
In her collegiate career (2006-09), Gruber captured nine MAC championships as an individual and became the first female in league history to complete a career sweep in a field event, winning the hammer throw all four times.
Gruber was a two-time team captain and three-time Most Valuable Performer on a team that achieved perfection; sweeping the conference’s indoor and outdoor championships each season from 2006-09. Her team was the first in MAC history to win four straight indoor titles or had a run of six consecutive championships (indoor and outdoor).
Gruber was Akron’s Female Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons from 2007-09. She was also a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree. Gruber earned her bachelor’s degree in child and family development in December 2008. She attended Sheridan High School where she sets records in shot and discus and placed second at the state meet her senior year in the shot put.
Gruber and her husband Christian, an Akron football alumnus (2006-09), reside in Lancaster, Ohio, with their three children–Landon (4), Emmarie (2) and Knox (4 months). Gruber was inducted into Akron’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Bryan Bullington – Ball State (baseball):
Ball State pitcher Bryan Bullington established many school records and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the first student-athlete from the Mid-American Conference to be the first selection in any professional draft.
Bullington (2000-02) holds the Ball State and MAC career strikeout record (357) and the Cardinals career wins record (29). As a freshman in 2000, he led the MAC in strikeouts and was tied for first in wins and fourth in innings pitched. As a sophomore in 2001, he led the league in strikeouts, games started and was second in innings pitched. As a junior in 2002, Bullington led the MAC in strikeouts, ERA and had the best record with an 11-3 mark overall and 6-0 in league games. He was named MAC Pitcher of the Year in 2001 and 2002, a three-time All-MAC First Team selection in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and was named the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2000.
Bullington was named All-America First-Team in 2002 by Collegiate Baseball, ABCA, Baseball America and NCBWA. He was also a member of the USA National Team in 2001. He was also named a 2002 Verizon – CoSIDA Academic All-District Five selection.
Bullington made his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005. He went on to play with Cleveland (2008), Toronto (2009) and Kansas City (2010). He also played with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2011-2014 and was selected to the Japanese All-Star Game in 2011. He ended his professional career in 2015 with the Orix Buffaloes.
A native of Mokena, Illinois, Bullington received his B.S. in Business Administration and Management from Ball State in 2010. He currently is an international scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was inducted in the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bullington and his wife, Lauren, have three children, Isabella, Jack and Matthew. His wife Lauren was a member of the Ball State women’s volleyball team. His father, Larry, is a member of the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame and played baseball and basketball as a Cardinal. His mother, Mary, was a member of the Ball State women’s swimming and diving team.
Margo Jonker – Central Michigan (softball):
Central Michigan’s Margo Jonker led the Chippewas softball program from 1980-2019 and retired as the winningest coach in MAC softball history and ninth-highest in NCAA Division I. Jonker, who graduated in 1976 with a degree in Physical Education, had an amazing impact on hundreds of student-athletes, making sure that their success was always the top priority. Her success on the field is unmatched but even greater is the fact that nearly every young woman that went through her program graduated and went on to success in their adult lives.
Jonker coached three Academic All-Americans and 67 academic all-conference players. The softball program won the Dick Enberg Team Leadership award three times since the recognition began in 2007 and the program received the Public Recognition Award from the NCAA multiple times. Her Central Michigan program had the fifth-highest GPA among D1 teams in 2011-12, the highest ranking in program history.
Jonker finished her career with the ninth-most wins in NCAA Division I history and the most wins in MAC history (1,268-808-7). She led the Chippewas to the NCAA Tournament 13 times, 10 MAC Tournament Championships, 10 MAC regular-season titles and one berth each in the NCAA Women's College World Series and the AIAW College World Series. She was named the MAC Coach of the Year a record 10 times and was selected as the NCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 1987 and Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year in 1994 and in 2000.
Jonker coached eight All-Americans and 53 all-region selections, including 30 first-team honorees. She had 87 All-MAC First Teamers and 39 All- MAC Second Teamers during her tenure. Under Jonker, the Chippewa student-athletes earned seven MAC Player of the Year honors, three MAC Pitcher of the Year awards, six MAC Freshman of the Year honors, and seven times a Central Michigan student-athlete was named the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Jonker represented the MAC on the international stage, serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic softball team that won the gold medal in the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. She was also involved with USA Softball's top international teams for several years, and in 1998 served as an assistant coach for the American team that captured gold in the World Championships in Japan.
Central Michigan honored Jonker during the 2008 season by renaming the Chippewas' facility Margo Jonker Stadium. She is a member of five halls of fame: National Fastpitch Coaches Association (inducted in 2003), Grand Valley State University (1990), Michigan Amateur Softball (2000), West Ottawa High School (2001) and Metro Detroit Amateur Softball Association (2014).
During Jonker’s tenure, the softball program was very active in the community, earned the first ever Central Michigan Community Leadership award in 2019. Groups that the program worked with include Special Olympics Michigan, Commission on Aging, Isabella Soup Kitchen, Mobile Food Pantry, Humane Society, PEAK After-School program and with Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe youth.
Wally Szczerbiak – Miami (men’s basketball):
Miami’s Wally Szczerbiak led the RedHawks men’s basketball program during his collegiate career from 1996-99 and scored 1,847 career points. He is the RedHawks second all-time leading scorer and ranks 24th in MAC men’s basketball history. Szczerbiak is Miami's second all-time leading scorer and is ranked among Miami career leaders on 11 of 19 career top-10 lists.
Szczerbiak helped lead Miami to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 men’s basketball tournament as he scored 43 points in Miami’s first round win over No. 7 Washington. Two days later he scored 24 points in a win over No. 2 seed Utah. Overall, Szczerbiak averaged 30.0 points per game during that 1999 tournament run.
Szczerbiak was named First-Team All-American by the Basketball News, Sports Illustrated and Basketball American in 1999. He was also a finalist for the Naismith Award that same season. He earned First-Team All-MAC in 1998 and 1999 and was the unanimous selection for the 1999 MAC Player of the Year award after averaging 24.2 points per game as a senior.
Szczerbiak is one of just two Miami student-athletes to be named to the MAC All-Tournament team three times (1997, 1998, 1999) and is Miami's career record holder for 3-point field-goal percentage and its single-season record holder for points, free throws and 3-point field-goal percentage.
In 1999, he helped the RedHawks tie a school record for wins with 24 and averaged 24.2 points per game, which ranked third nationally. He played in the 1997 and 1999 NCAA Tournaments and the 1996 NIT and helped Miami to regular-season MAC titles in 1997 and 1999 and a tournament crown in 1997.
Szczerbiak was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the sixth overall pick in 1999 and also played for Boston, Seattle and Cleveland during a 12-year NBA career. In addition to his work with CBS Sports Network, Szczerbiak currently serves as a studio analyst for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network.
Szczerbiak was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame in 2008.
Ellen Herman-Kimball – Ohio (women’s volleyball):
Ellen Herman-Kimball stands out as the most decorated student-athlete who ever competed for the Bobcats volleyball program. Herman (2006-09) became the first two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-American in program history in both 2008-09. She earned AVCA All-Mideast Region honors in both 2008 and '09 after receiving Honorable Mention recognition in 2007.
A four-time All-MAC selection, Herman-Kimball followed up being named MAC Freshman of the Year and earning a spot on the MAC AllFreshman Team in 2006 by being named MAC Player of the Year in both 2008 and 2009. Herman-Kimball guided the Bobcats to four-straight MAC Championships and four trips to the NCAA Tournament. She was named to the MAC Championship All-Tournament Team in both 2006 and 2008, garnering Most Valuable Player recognition in 2008.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Herman-Kimball ranks first in the MAC record book in career kills (1,984) and ranks fifth in career attack attempts (4,925). She is the Ohio record holder in career kills, career attack attempts and career points and also owns three of the top-five seasons in program history in kills and two of the top-six in points.
Herman-Kimball became the third former volleyball player to be inducted into the Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. She most recently played professionally with Sagres NUC, one of the top teams in the LNA, the top professional league in Switzerland. During the 2011-2012 season, she was match MVP three times, and helped the out of Neuchatel, Switzerland club finish second in the league. Sagres also reached the Swiss Cup final and the quarterfinals of the CEV Challenge Cup, a European-wide Championship. Returning to Neuchatel the following season, she was awarded match MVP five times and the team finished third place in the LNA. In 2010, she competed for VT Aurubis Hamburg, a member of Germany's 14-team premier league, Bundesliga. During her brief stint in Germany, she received MVP honors during two matches.
Prior to her professional career, Herman-Kimball trained with the U.S. National Team during the summer of 2009 and competed with the U.S. National Team on their Tour of China during February of 2010. She also competed with the U.S. A2 Team, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the Adult Open Championship in 2008. Herman-Kimball was named the head coach at UConn on Feb. 28, 2019, after serving as an assistant coach for five seasons.
Herman-Kimball was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree and capped off her career at Ohio by earning ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honorable Mention in 2009. She earned her Bachelor of Health Administration from Ohio University in 2010.
Briana Shook – Toledo (women’s track & field and cross country):
Briana Shook is one of the most decorated student-athletes on the track in the University of Toledo and MAC history. Shook was a three-time All-American in both cross country and track & field. Over the course of her career, Shook (2000-04) won 11 MAC titles and added three runner-up finishes, as well.
Shook helped lead the Rockets to back-to-back MAC Cross Country Championships in 2001 and 2002, winning the individual race both seasons. In 2002 she was named the NCAA Great Lakes Region Cross Country Runner of the Year. Shook was a three-time MAC champion in the indoor 3,000, and twice each in the indoor 5,000, the outdoor 5000 and the 3000-meer steeplechase. She still holds the MAC record in the indoor 3000 meters (9:25.91) and the steeplechase (9:49.44).
At the 2002 MAC Outdoor Championship Meet, Shook earned the Most Valuable Performance award for her victory in the steeplechase and 5,000 meters. She went on to finish in fifth place in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championship Meet that year. Shook also earned Most Valuable Performance honors at the 2003 MAC Indoor Championship Meet for her first-place finishes in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
In 2004, she was named the MAC Outdoor Championship Meet Most Valuable Performer award and was named NCAA Mideast Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She won the steeplechase (9:59.22) and the 5,000 meters (16:22.46) at the 2004 MAC Meet and finished second at the NCAA Championship meet in the steeplechase.
During the summer of 2004, Shook made history by setting the American record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with her 9:29.32 clocking in Belgium, a time that was fourth-best in the world that year. She was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in the steeplechase by Track & Field News in both 2003 and 2004, winning the USA Outdoor title in 2003. In 2004 she won the U.S. Olympic Trials but was disqualified for missing a jump, even though she actually ended up running a longer race than her competitors.
Shook graduated from Toledo in 2004 with a degree in communications and photography, earning Academic All-MAC honors as a senior. She went to join the Toledo coaching staff, serving as an assistant from 2004-08. Shook was instrumental in helping to guide the women's cross country program to a MAC runner-up finish in 2005 and an eighth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Regional Championships, the highest of any MAC program that season. She also helped to guide Ebba Stenback to an eighth-place finish and All America status at the 2006 NCAA Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Under Shook's guidance, Stenback was also the NCAA Mideast Regional Champion and No. 2 all-time steeplechaser in MAC history behind Shook.
Shook later served as head women's track and cross country coach at Heidelberg University from 2010-13. She coached 13 All-Americans, two national champions and was named Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2013. She retired from coaching in 2013 to help raise her three children with her husband.
Shook was named Academic All-MAC in 2004 and was inducted into the University of Toledo Varsity T Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Ohio Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2020. She currently resides in Mexico, Missouri with her husband, Robert, and the couple have three daughters -- Haleigh (13), Atley (7) and Georgia (5).
