2022 Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Set for Friday

Published On: September 20th, 20224.7 min readCategories: Covid-19, Featured, Latest Headlines, Local News, News
 The Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2022 will formally inducted this weekend (Friday, Sept.) in Mankato.
Along with seven individuals, a “team” inductee and this year’s service, philanthropic and lifetime achievement award recipients will also be recognized. This year’s induction is Friday, Sept. 23 with the formal induction ceremony taking place at the Hall of Fame Induction Dinner held in MSU’s CSU Ballroom (registration at 6:30 p.m., program starts at 7:00 p.m.).
Tickets for the event are available here.
The new Hall of Fame members in the student-athlete category include baseball standout Josh Smith (MSU ‘99), women’s basketball stalwart Alex (Andrews) Shepp (‘09), national champion wrestler Troy Szydel (MSU 1995-99) and All-American men’s basketball guard Jefferson Mason (2009-11).
Slated for induction in the builders category are longtime Minnesota State administrators Deb Schulz and Mavis Anderson.
Selected for induction in the “team” category is the 2010-11 men’s basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four.
The Jim Schaffer Service Award will be presented to longtime men’s hockey off-ice official Jim Grabianowski and this year’s MSU Athletics Philanthropic Award recipients are members of the 2022 Hockey Day Minnesota Local Organizing Committee.
For the first time ever a Minnesota State Athletics Lifetime Achievement Award will presented with longtime Voice of the Mavericks Casey Lloyd serving as the inaugural recipient.
Biographies of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees are listed below.
Josh Smith (MSU ‘99, baseball) (Student-athlete Category)
1998 North Central Conference Most Valuable Player…Hit .559 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in conference play to earn the league’s “Triple Crown” title in 1998…Played in 115 consecutive games…1998 team MVP…Held MSU record for career home runs (29)…Also MSU’s all-time leader in total bases (319) and is fourth in career RBI (122)…Two-time All-NCC selection…Four-year starter helped lead Mavericks to three NCC championships and three NCAA tournament appearances.
 
Alex (Andrews) Shepp (MSU ‘09, women’s basketball) (Student-athlete Category)
2008-09 Georgene Brock Award recipient as Minnesota State’s top senior female student-athlete of the year…2008-09 team captain…Helped lead Mavericks to NCAA DII national championship as a senior..Played in 122 consecutive games…1,176 career points ranks 15th all-time with the Mavericks…All-NSIC First Team selection as a senior…NCAA DII Elite Eight All-Tournament. ..NCAA DII Central Region All-Tournament.
Jefferson Mason (MSU ‘11, men’s basketball) (Student-athlete Category)
Named Minnesota State’s Top Senior Male Athlete in 2010-11…Registered 634 points (19.2 ppg) in leading Minnesota State to a 24-8 record as a senior in 2010-11… 634 points ranks fifth on school’s all-time single-season list…Named to three All-America teams in 2010-11,  named Most Outstanding Player at the 2011 NCAA Central Region Men’s Basketball Tournament and was selected to NCAA Elite Eight All-Tournament Team….Named 2010 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in 2010….Led Mavericks to NSIC regular-season title in 2010-11 and the NCAA DII Region title before leading Minnesota State to its first-ever Elite 8 appearance.
Troy Szydel (MSU ‘99, wrestling) (Student-athlete Category)
Three-time All-American captured NCAA Division II national champion at 142 lbs as a junior in 1998 when he amassed a 29-3 won-loss record…Athens, Wis., native finished fifth at NCAA championships as a senior at 149 in 1999 and fifth as a sophomore in 1997…1998 North Central Conference champion (142)…Named team MVP in 1998…Named team’s Most Improved Wrestler in 1997…Had 71-24 career record in four years with the Mavericks…Helped Minnesota State to sixth-place NCAA finish as a senior in 1999, seventh-place finish in 1998 and 17th-place finish in 1997.
 
Deb Schulz (MSU athletics administrator) (Builders Category)
Longtime Associate Director of the Minnesota State University Registration and Academic Records Department…Worked with the Maverick athletic department for over 27 years…Served as the University’s official certifier for NCAA athletic eligibility for nearly 600 student-athletes annually, along with overseeing the University’s grading process and transcript processing and procedures…Played a vital role in the approval of Maverick student-athletes being permitted to receive Priority Registration, as well as helping many individuals throughout the years receive NCAA Degree Completion and Post-Graduate scholarships.  Retired in July 2022…. Truman, Minn., native earned her master’s degree from MSU in 2005.
 
Mavis Anderson (MSU Athletics administrator) (Builders Category)
A native of southern Minnesota, enjoyed a 20-year career working in the Minnesota State registrar’s office which included responsibility as Academic Athletic Eligibility Coordinator…Served as the University’s official certifier for NCAA athletic eligibility for nearly 600 student-athletes annually, along with overseeing the University’s grading process and transcript processing and procedures…Played a vital role in helping many individuals throughout the years receive NCAA Degree Completion and Post-Graduate scholarships…MSU Student Affairs Award of Excellence recipient…Retired in October 2005…. Graduate of Mapleton (Minn.) High School and South Central College.
2010-11 Men’s Basketball Team (Team Category)
Mavericks posted a 24-8 overall record and had a 19-3 mark en route the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular-season title. Posted wins over Winona State, Metro State and Ft. Lewis to win the NCAA DII Central Region tournament (hosted in Taylor Center). Advancing to the NCAA DII Elite Eight for the first time in program history, Minnesota State downed Alabama-Huntsville (95-91) in national quarterfinal action in punching a ticket to the Final Four.  The run came to an end in the semifinals with an 81-74 loss to the eventual national champions Bellarmine. Senior guard Jefferson Mason, who was named to three All-America teams at the end of the year, was named to the Elite 8 All-Tournament Team…Mason and Marcus Hill were named All-NSIC First Team and Cameron Hodges, who was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, was All-NSIC Second Team…Head coach Matt Margenthaler was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year.

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