Emporia State has announced that program softball great Samantha Sheeley will be inducted into the athletic department’s Hall of Honor.
Sheeley played at ESU from 2007-08, and led the Hornets to the Division II national championship game as a senior. She tied a program single-season record with 31 wins in her final collegiate season, and earned a mention on the all-tournament team at the championship tournament.
The Pitcher of the Year in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2008, she was twice an all-conference selection and was named an all-American.
Following her career at ESU, Sheeley spent two years in the National Pro Fastpitch league, helping lead the Rockford Thunder to the league championship in 2009. She played for the Tennessee Diamonds in her second, and ultimately final, professional season in 2010.
Joining Sheeley in induction in the Class of 2020 are Alan Johnson (track & field); Cassondra Boston Richards (basketball); Steve Sauder (honorary member); and Arica Shepard Ahlvers (volleyball). The quintet will be honored as part of the school’s virtual Homecoming festivities this week, with “plans in the works to honor them in person when conditions allow,” according to a school release.
