Director of Athletics Chris Massaro announced the 2020 Blue Raider Hall of Fame Class via Wednesday's webinar, "Moving Forward While Looking Back: A Conversation with Blue Raider Legends."
The Zoom webinar was also carried Wednesday night on WGNS.
The impressive class includes Bryce Brentz (baseball), Alysha Clark (women's basketball), Mike Harmon (golf), Kendall Newson (football), Heather Prater Warren (women's basketball) and Clay Snellgrove (baseball).
The six Blue Raider greats all participated in the webinar under the impression they would be discussing their careers and give updates on what they are doing now; however, they were all surprised when Massaro revealed they would be inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame as the Class of 2020.
"On behalf of our current student-athletes and former student-athletes, our coaches and staff and Blue Raiders everywhere I want to publicly announce that you are the newest members of our athletic Hall of Fame and part of the 2020 Class," Massaro said. "I can't think of a better group. This is a really great class. You guys have meant so much to our past. I love what you represent and am so proud that you are in our Hall of Fame."
All six of these individuals had a tremendous impact on their sport and the landscape of Blue Raider Athletics during their respective era.
Brentz is a five-time, first-team All-American and Middle Tennessee's all-time home run leader. He was a three-time All-Sun Belt selection and the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He helped lead the Blue Raiders to a school-record 44 wins and a No. 2 seed in the Louisville Regional in 2009. Brentz was the first-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2010.
Clark was a dominant force in her two seasons as a Lady Raider. She was an eight-time All-American and was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Clark was also named Most Valuable Player of the Sun Belt Championships in both seasons. She owns the top six single-game scoring marks in program history with six games of 44-plus points. She was the 17th overall selection of San Antonio in the 2010 WNBA Draft and currently plays for the Seattle Storm.
Harmon spent three years in the Blue Raider men's golf starting lineup, helping lead his team to second-place finishes in the Ohio Valley Conference in 1976 and 1977. Harmon is the only Blue Raider golfer to play on the PGA Tour on a full-time basis, earning his card in 1980. Harmon has spent the last 33 years as Director of Golf at the Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, S.C.
Newson is one of the all-time great receivers in Blue Raider football history and made his mark as Middle Tennessee was breaking into Division I-A football. Upon the completion of his playing career, Newson ranked No. 1 in career receptions, No. 1 in career receiving yards, No. 1 in consecutive games with a catch and No. 2 for career touchdown receptions. Newson was the Blue Raiders' go-to receiver in the team's first two winnings seasons in the FBS era.
Prater (Warren) enjoyed a heralded Lady Raider career and helped lead her team to OVC Championships in 1995 and 96. She is the program's all-time assists leader with more than 600 helpers and is also a member of the program's 1,000-point club. She started 113 games in her career and still ranks first and second in the Lady Raider record books for 3-point shooting percentage for a single season.
Snellgrove is one of the Blue Raider baseball's top hitters and defensive specialists and put up strong numbers that still rank among the best in program history during his four-year career from 1993-to-97. At the completion of his playing career, Snellgrove ranked No. 1 on the all-time lists in six different categories: games played, hits, at-bats, singles, doubles and sacrifices, while also ranking in the Top 5 for RBI and total bases. Snellgrove was drafted by the San Diego Padres following his Blue Raider career.
