The Missouri Valley Conference has announced its 2023 Hall of Fame Class.

2023 MVC Hall of Fame Class (PDF)

The 26th MVC Hall of Fame class features baseball star and former No. 1 overall pick Andy Benes (Evansville); three four-time first-team All-Conference selections in Melanie (Boeglin) White (Indiana State women’s basketball); Barb (Gaines) Porter (Missouri State softball), and Rachel Tejada (Illinois State women’s soccer); Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith (Tulsa); and a 2007 Master’s and 2015 British Open champ in Zach Johnson (Drake). Including this year’s six inductees, the MVC Hall of Fame consists of 145 former student-athletes, administrators, coaches, and contributors.

The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championship in St. Louis, Mo., next March 2-5. The Friday, March 3, festivities will begin with an 8:00 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m.

Tickets to the 2023 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to be held at Stifel Theatre, which is adjacent to Enterprise Center – can be obtained by contacting the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The 2023 State Farm MVC Tournament marks the 33rd-straight year the event has been staged in St. Louis.  With 33-consecutive years at the same neutral site, Arch Madness is the second-longest neutral site tenured collegiate tourney in the nation (following only the Big East in New York City).

“One of the great rewards that comes with representing a Conference with the magnitude of the Missouri Valley is the opportunity to interact with some of the finest practitioners in the collegiate athletic space,” said Commissioner Jeff Jackson.  “This class represents the reach of The Valley in and away from the athletic arena.  We are all truly inspired by their achievements and touched by their grace.”

ANDY BENES, EVANSVILLE (1986-88)
After playing three sports -- baseball, basketball, and football -- at Evansville, his professional baseball career took off after leaving UE in 1988.  Andy Benes was the 1988 NCAA Baseball Player of the Year was the 1988 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.
During the 1988 collegiate season, Benes recorded a 16-3 record for the Aces, spotting a 1.42 earned run average in 146 innings of work.  He struck out 188 batters that year while leading the NCAA in strikeout ratio (11.6/9 innings).  He also won the Pitching Triple Crown leading DI baseball in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
Benes was the No. 1 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.  Andy was a Padre from 1989-1995, earning The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year honor in his first year with San Diego.  He was an All-Star in 1993 and led the National League with 189 strikeouts during the 1994 season.  Benes finished third in the Cy Young Award balloting in 1996 after an 18–10, 3.83 ERA season.
Benes’ major league career spanned four organizations from 1989-2002 as he also pitched for the Seattle Mariners (1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-99), and he had two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals (1996-97 and 2000-02).
He recorded a 155-139 record in the majors with a career 3.97 ERA and 2,000 strikeouts. Notably, he struck out the final batter of his career in 2002 to reach that plateau.
At Evansville, Benes was an All-American in 1988 by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and the ABCA, while his No. 30 is one of two retired jerseys in program history.  He helped the United States to the gold medal in baseball in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games.
Benes currently lives in St. Louis with his wife Jennifer. They have seven kids and seven grandkids. He owns a youth baseball club as well as being active in the St. Louis community with the Cardinals. He enjoys his weekly Bible studies, public speaking about his Christian faith, and playing golf.

MELANIE (BOEGLIN) WHITE, INDIANA STATE (2002-06)
Boeglin was a dominant player for Indiana State’s women’s basketball program from 2002 to 2006. She became the first athlete in the history of the MVC to win the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year award and the league’s Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in the same season, both coming in 2006.
During her outstanding 2006 season, Boeglin earned third-team honors on The Sporting News All-America squad, and she was also a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/Kodak and Associated Press All-American Team honorable-mention pick.
Boeglin earned first-team all-MVC honors in all four of her seasons at ISU (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006), and she was also a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team in each of those seasons. Boeglin was the league’s 2005 Defensive Player of the Year.  She was selected to the league’s All-Centennial Team, announced in 2007.  Boeglin led the Sycamores in scoring as a junior in 2004-05 (16.0 ppg) and as a senior in 2005-06 (18.2 ppg).  She led ISU in assists and steals for all four of her seasons.
The 2006 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American was also a three-time MVC All-Academic Team choice (2004, 2005, 2006).  
Boeglin still ranks in ISU’s Top 10 in six career categories, including steals (1st, 436), assists (1st, 685), games played (1st, 124), free throws made (1st, 576), points scored (3rd, 1,800), and made field goals (5th, 571).  Her 46-point outburst at Drake in January 2006 remains a school single-game record.
During her Sycamore career, Indiana State posted an 88-36 record, won, or finished second in the MVC regular season three times, and participated in the Women’s NIT three times.
In 2006, Boeglin was the first Indiana State women’s basketball player to receive an invitation to attend the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp. And in February 2019, she became the first woman at Indiana State to have her number (22) retired.
Boeglin resides in Whitestown, Ind., with her husband Donnie and her daughter Spencer.  She currently works in marketing at Indiana University Health as a Program Manager of Corporate Partnerships.

BARB (GAINES) PORTER, MISSOURI STATE (1990-93) 
Barb Gaines was a star infielder on the Missouri State softball team from 1990-93.  The St. Louis native became the first softball player in the combined history of the Gateway and Missouri Valley conferences to win all-league honors four years in a row.
Gaines closed her career with five MSU single-season records and eight career marks. She still holds the school career records for hits (252), hitting (.403) and total chances (1,287), and she is in the Top 5 all-time at MoState in at bats (2nd, 626), runs (4th, 113), stolen bases (3rd, 58), and putouts (3rd, 1,013).
In her freshman season of 1990, Gaines batted a team-high .354 and led the club in runs, hits, walks and at bats. Gaines led the 1991 squad with a .388 batting average, paced the team in at bats, runs, hits, stolen bases, and fielding average, and was selected to the all-Midwest Region second team.
During her junior year, she set team single season records for hits (75), at bats (180), runs (39) and batting average (.419), finishing 19th nationally in hitting. She became the first MSU softball All-America as a senior in 1993 when she was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America third team. 
Gaines was the league-leader in both batting average and total hits as both a junior and senior, and she tied for the league lead in runs scored in 1992.
She enjoyed a brilliant senior year, ranking among the national top 10 in hitting most of the year on her way to a school record .442 mark. She also led the Valley in hits (69). Her batting mark that season still ranks 8th-best all-time in MVC history.  Her career batting average (.403)
Following her senior season, she was named to the Academic all-MVC first team. She was voted Missouri Valley co-MVP after hitting .507 in 18 league games. She was named to the MSU All-Decade team in 1991-92 in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Gateway Conference. Gaines received the MSU Outstanding Female Athlete Award in 1992 and 1993, becoming the first person to earn that honor in back-to-back years.
Gaines was inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 and became the first player to have her jersey retired by the Missouri State softball program.
She currently lives in St. Paul, Mo., married 29 years to her high school sweetheart Tony, who is also a Missouri State Alumni. They have two daughters Hailey (27) a Physician’s Assistant in Mattoon, Ill., and Hanna (25) who owns a couple of eateries in St. Charles County with her husband.  They are excited to welcome their first grandchild in February.  Barb has enjoyed a long career with Arch Resources and is currently Vice President of Logistics. She enjoys traveling, hanging with her dogs, fitness, music and spending as much time as possible with family and friends.

ZACH JOHNSON, DRAKE (1994-98)
Zach Johnson is a 12-time PGA Tour winner, which has included two majors:  the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship.  At the time, Johnson became only the sixth golfer to win majors at Augusta and St. Andrews, joining Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, and Tiger Woods.
Before turning pro in 1998, Johnson helped the Drake Bulldogs to three NCAA regionals and two MVC Championships. He earned MVC Golfer of the Week five times in his collegiate career and earned selection to the MVC’s All-Centennial Men’s Golf Team, announced May 2007 in conjunction with the MVC’s Centennial Celebration.
In 2003, he topped the money list on the Nationwide Tour with then record earnings of $494,882, earning an automatic promotion to the PGA TOUR. He won his first PGA TOUR event at the 2004 BellSouth Classic outside of Atlanta. Johnson qualified for the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, finishing 9th on the U.S. points list.  In 2004, he became the second player in TOUR history to surpass $2 million in earnings in his rookie season.
As a professional, Johnson has recorded 83 top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR. 
A native of Iowa City, Iowa, Johnson has been a member of five Ryder Cup teams (2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2006) and four Presidents Cup teams (2015, 2013, 2009, 2007).  And in 2023, Johnson will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup squad against the Europe team in Rome, Italy. 
Johnson has recorded more than $48 million in career earnings, and he currently ranks 12th among active PGA professionals in career earnings. He has finished in the top 10 in earnings five times in his career.
In July 2010, he established the Zach Johnson Foundation, which invested $1 million in May 2011 to establish Kids on Course, a pilot program at two elementary schools in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Johnson was honored with Drake’s “Double D” Award in 2011 for his tremendous success in his field and impact he has made in the community.  Johnson was the Payne Stewart Award winner in 2020.
Zach and Kim have three children, Will, Wyatt and Abby Jane (AJ) and reside in St. Simons Island, Ga.

TUBBY SMITH, TULSA (1991-95), Coaches Wing
Tubby Smith had a 79-43 record at Tulsa in his four years there, while leading the Golden Hurricane to 1993-94 and 1994-95 MVC titles with 15-3 regular season records.  Tulsa reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in both years.  Smith’s teams recorded the league’s first two Sweet 16 appearances (after the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985).  It could be argued that Tubby’s Tulsa teams provided the momentum for the league’s success which immediately followed.  In the 13 years after Tulsa’s 1995 run, the MVC had 10 seasons with multiple bids to the tournament, which included five additional Sweet 16 trips.
Smith’s success did not end at Tulsa, taking the reins at Georgia where he accumulated a 45-19 record in two seasons.  In 1997, Smith became Kentucky’s head coach and led the Wildcats to the 1998 national championship. He secured a 262-83 record with five Sweet Sixteen trips and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in 10 seasons there.
In his 31 years as a head coach, Smith achieved 26 winning seasons, compiling a career record of 642-369 with head coaching stints at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis, and High Point. With Texas Tech’s invitation to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Smith became only the second coach in history to lead five different teams to the NCAA tournament.
He also served as an assistant coach on the 2000 Gold Medal winning USA squad in Sydney.  In addition to his national title with Kentucky, Smith won five SEC regular-season titles and five SEC tournament titles, plus his two MVC crowns.  Smith was the AP National Coach of the Year, Naismith Coach of the Year and NABC Coach of the Year in 2003, a two-time MVC Coach of the Year, three-time SEC Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year once.  He also earned the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award and Sporting News National Coach of the Year honors in 2016.
The former Panther standout was inducted into the High Point University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2013, Smith was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. He was an inductee into The University of Tulsa’s Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2021.
A native of Scotland, Md., Smith is the sixth of 17 children of Guffrie and Parthenia Smith. He is married to his wife Donna, and has three sons, G.G., Saul and Brian, and a daughter, Trisch.  G.G. succeeded Tubby as head coach at High Point.

RACHEL TEJADA, ILLINOIS STATE (2011-14)
Rachel Tejada is one of the most decorated MVC women’s soccer players in league history.  The four-year letterwinner for the Redbirds is the only player in Missouri Valley Conference history to be named Conference Player of the Year four times.
The four-time first-team All-MVC selection also earned MVC All-Tournament honors in each of her four seasons.
Tejada, who was inducted into the Illinois State Percy Family Hall of Fame in 2021, still holds MVC and ISU career records for goals (74), assists (42) and points (190).  She also owns MVC single-season records for goals (21 in 2011) and points (54 in 2014).  Tejada holds ISU single-season records in points, assists, shots, and shots on goal. 
When Tejada completed her career in 2014 with Illinois State, she ranked No. 25 on all-time NCAA Division I career points list.
As a Redbird, Illinois State earned three MVC regular-season championships and won the MVC Tournament four consecutive years.  Tejada led the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances, helping team to wins in 2013 at Louisville and 2014 at South Florida.
A 2014 NSCAA Academic All-American Third Team selection, Tejada was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District V First-Team selection.
In her first year at ISU in 2011, Tejada became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors when she was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman First Team.  As a sophomore in 2012, she was a 2012 Soccer News Net College Boot Award finalist.
The two-time NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team (2012-13) selection became only the second player in program history to earn NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team honors.
She was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2015.
Currently Tejada is an operating room nurse, assisting with patient care during surgeries, primarily neurosurgery.
After spending three years in Seattle, she has been a traveling nurse since August 2021, spending time at Trauma 1 Centers in St. Louis, Denver, Phoenix, and she currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She continues to play soccer and also enjoys hiking, camping, and skiing. She and her fiancé are planning a May 2023 wedding and are moving to St. Louis.