OVERLAND PARK, Ks. – The College Baseball Foundation (CBF) has announced 12 new members of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 16th induction class will be honored at the Night of Champions on Feb. 15, 2024, in Overland Park, Ks.
The class includes players, coaches, umpires, and administrators, all of whom have contributed to college baseball at the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA levels.
Highlighting the 2023 class are six players, two of whom had successful Major League Baseball careers: Alex Gordon, three-time MLB All-Star and World Series champion with the Kansas City Royals, and Ron Darling, MLB All-Star, World Series champion and Gold Glove Award winner with the New York Mets. The class also includes four coaches and two former umpires with storied histories in the college game. Three inductees will be honored posthumously.
To be eligible for the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, players must be out of college for 15 years and have completed one year of competition at a two-year institution in the CCCAA or NJCAA or a four-year NCAA (Division I, II, or III) or NAIA institution. Ballot-eligible coaches must be retired for two years or be active and no less than 75 years old.
Along with the Hall of Fame inductees, the Night of Champions will celebrate the winners of the 2023 College Baseball Foundation awards, including Matt Shaw, University of Maryland (Brooks Wallace Award); Paul Skenes, Louisiana State University (National Pitcher of the Year); Caden
Grice, Clemson University (John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year); and Kevin Brooks of Angelo State University, the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year.
“Each year when the College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees are announced it creates a tremendous level of pride and appreciation for those who have given so much to the college game,” says Craig Ramsey, Chair of the College Baseball Foundation board of directors. “Inducting the newest Hall of Fame members and celebrating top performers from this past year will officially close out the achievements of the 2023 season. Then we will eagerly turn the page to the start of the 2024 college baseball season the next day.”
The 2023 College Baseball Hall of Fame Class:
- Chris Bando, Arizona State University, 1975-78 (Catcher)
- Pat Casey, George Fox College/Oregon State University, 1988-2018 (Coach)
- Jack Coffey, Fordham University, 1906-09 (Shortstop); 1923-58 (Coach) – deceased
- Ron Darling, Yale University, 1979-81 (Pitcher/Outfield)
- Mike Fuentes, Florida State University, 1978-81 (Outfield)
- Alex Gordon, University of Nebraska, 2004-06 (Third Base)
- Steve Kemp, University of Southern California, 1973-75 (Outfield)
- Russell Martin, Southwestern University, 1982-85 (Pitcher) – deceased
- Mike Metheny, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 1981-2017 (Coach)
- Marty Miller, Norfolk State University, 1973-2005 (Coach)
- C.J. Mitchell, college umpire and pioneer – deceased
- Tony Thompson, 1978-2018 (Umpire)
