SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State will induct seven former coaches, an iconic university ambassador, a national championship team and a standout baseball performer as part of its 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame induction class.
 
This year's Hall of Fame ceremonies will take place the weekend of Jan. 24-25, 2025.
 
Tom Strong, a long-time advocate and supporter of Missouri State University, is the recipient of this year's Don Payton Award. A nationally-recognized attorney, Strong has been a pillar of the Springfield community for decades. His passion for Missouri State was instrumental in the university's 2005 name change efforts, two comprehensive fundraising campaigns and the pending move to Conference USA and FBS football in 2025. Likewise, his financial support of the institution helped establish two endowed academic chairs, several scholarships and countless opportunities for student-athletes.
 
The Payton Award was established in 2017 in conjunction with the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame to honor those individuals whose accomplishments fall outside the realm of standout coaches or student-athletes. The late Don Payton was MSU's director of information from 1956 to 1985 and was given the inaugural award, while long-time faculty athletics representative Dr. Bruce Johnson (2018), former director of bands Jerry Hoover (2019), special contributors Larry Atwood and Paul Mullins (2020), radio announcer Art Hains (2022), academic achievement center director JoBelle Hopper (2023) and sports broadcaster Ned Reynolds (2024) have been subsequently honored.
 
The team inductees this year will be the 1978 to 1981 Field Hockey Teams under the direction of coach Dr. Rhonda Ridinger.  The 1979 AIAW national championship team highlights the four-year run of remarkable performances from that program which was 109-14-6 (.868) in that span with three regional titles, three trips to the national tournament, a national runner-up finish in 1980 and the 1979 Division II title. Behind All-Americans like Chris Dufner, Linda Schachet, Kathy Schubert and Suzy Fortune, the Bears established program high-water marks in nearly every statistical category, including a remarkable 22-game winning streak in 1978. The 1978 team allowed just 10 goals as part of a 28-2 campaign, which was equaled a year later with the 28-2-1 national champions.
 
Past team inductees into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame include: the 1952 and 1953 men's basketball national championship clubs of coach Bob Vanatta (2020); Kay Hunter's 1974 softball team was honored for its AIAW Women's College World Series (2022); coach Chuck Hunsaker's 1973-77 men's cross country teams – including the 1974 NCAA Division II national championship squad (2023); and coach Bill Rowe's 1969 and 1970 back-to-back NCAA Division II World Series baseball teams (2024).
 
The 2025 Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame class includes four legendary head coaches who have combined for 2,852 victories in 134 seasons at Missouri State:

• Rob Brewer (women's soccer - 1996-2021)
• Keith Guttin (baseball - 1983-2024)
• Holly Hesse (softball - 1989-2024)
• Jon Leamy (men's soccer - 1992-2021)

The class also includes three remarkable assistant coaches:

• Paul Evans (baseball - 1989-2022)
• Sue Frederick (softball - 1991-2022)
• Beth Perine (softball - 1996-2023)

 
This year's Legacy inductee is Kenny Brown who was a baseball standout for coach Bill Rowe from 1965-67.
 
The 49th Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame class will be honored at halftime of the Lady Bears basketball game vs. Drake on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.; and also at halftime of the Bears basketball game vs. Drake the following afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
This year's induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, Jan. 25 at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at The Old Glass Place (521 E. St. Louis St., Springfield). Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. Tickets for the induction ceremony and banquet are $25 apiece and may be purchased through the Bears Fund by phone (417) 836-6747 or email to bearsfund@missouristate.edu. The university will be closed from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. (UPDATED 1/16/25: The Hall of Fame induction luncheon is SOLD OUT).
 
The 2025 induction class brings the total membership of the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame to 429 student-athletes, coaches, administrators, media, teams and support personnel.
 
Profiles on the 2025 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame induction class (alphabetically) are as follows:
 
 
ROB BREWER
Rob Brewer presided over the Missouri State women's soccer program from its inception in 1996 until his retirement in 2021. During his tenure, the program's founder oversaw 123 all-conference selections, 41 all-freshmen team honorees, 43 all-tournament team picks, and 90 conference scholar-athlete team performers. His teams were a combined 225-207-61 in 26 seasons, reaching the MVC Tournament 22 times in that span with MVC Tournament crowns and NCAA Tournament berths in 2000 and 2017. The Bears finished in the top four of the Missouri Valley Conference 18 times in Brewer's tenure including four runner-up finishes. Brewer coached the 2009 MVC Player of the Year (Samantha Aguilar), three MVC Goalkeepers of the Year, eight MVC Defensive Players of the Year and the program's first-ever NWSL draft pick in Nia Williams (fourth round by FC Kansas City in 2012). A native of Lynchburg, Va., Brewer has served on the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Committee and was named MVC Coach of the Year in 1999.
 
KENNY BROWN
A standout baseball performer for coach Bill Rowe from 1965 to 1967, Kenny Brown had the rare combination of speed and power that put the program on the map in its early stages. He led the squad in total bases, triples and home runs all three seasons and in at-bats, runs, slugging percentage and extra-base hits twice. He was voted the team's recipient of the A.E. "Ted" Willis MVP Award in 1967. His .760 slugging percentage in 1966, boosted by a healthy .400 batting average, still ranks No. 8 in program history. His three triples in a single game (1966) has remained the club's record for its duration, and his three stolen bases in a single contest, also in 1966, ranks third. He racked up 10 career triples, 12 home runs and 127 total bases in just 60 games. A 1972 graduate of MSU, Brown has been a community business leader and has continued to support various Bears programs over the years.
 
PAUL EVANS
Paul Evans spent 34 seasons as the Bears' pitching coach from 1989 to 2022, mentoring 67 Missouri State hurlers to professional contracts. Likewise, a total of 14 MSU pitchers have advanced to the Major Leagues under Evans, 26 have earned first-team all-conference honors, 15 have claimed All-America recognition, five were MLB first-round draft picks, and three Bears have been selected to pitch for Team USA. Evans also coached five MVC Pitchers of the Year. Over his final decade on staff, Evans' pupils posted three of the four lowest team ERAs in team history as well as the top three single-season strikeout totals. Evans was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 and earned D1Baseball.com's National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015. The 2015 staff featured three All-Americans on an NCAA Regional championship team that compiled 49 wins with a 2.91 ERA, 553 strikeouts and 9 shutouts. Evans was a key part of three NCAA Regional championship teams and the 2003 College World Series squad.
 
SUE FREDERICK
Sue Frederick spent 32 seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach for the Missouri State softball team from 1991 to 2022. During her tenure alongside head coach Holly Hesse, the Bears won 846 games, made six NCAA Tournament appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2011 and 2022), won two regular-season MVC titles and claimed six MVC Tournament crowns. One of the most-memorable stretches in her coaching tenure was three straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances from 1996 to 1998. Frederick primarily worked with the Bears infielders, offense and strength and conditioning efforts while handling team travel, budgeting, practice organization and clinic development. A native of Ankeny, Iowa, and honors graduate of Creighton University, Frederick played for the Virginia Roadsters in the inaugural Women's Professional Fastpitch season in the summer of 1997.
 
KEITH GUTTIN
One of the most successful baseball coaches in NCAA history, Keith Guttin racked up 1,396 wins in 42 seasons from 1983 to 2024. Under Guttin, the Bears averaged 34 victories a year, racked up a dozen 40-win seasons and made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2003 College World Series in Omaha. Additionally, MSU won 20 conference titles under Guttin, while 140 Bears signed professional contracts, 21 of whom have advanced to the Major Leagues, with six first-round MLB draft picks. His players earned conference all-academic team honors 75 times with 12 Academic All-America selections in his tenure. He finished his career ranked second among active Division I head coaches and 12th all-time in career victories. He was named conference coach of the year 13 times and was selected as the American Baseball Coaches Association Division I Midwest Region Coach of the Year in both 1997 and 2003. All told, Guttin has spent 47 seasons as a part of the MSU baseball program as a player, assistant coach and head coach and is currently serving as the program's director of special projects.
 
HOLLY HESSE
Holly Hesse collected 922 victories over the course of her 36 seasons as head softball coach at Missouri State from 1989 to 2024. She is the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history (413 Valley wins) and the 47th-winningest coach in NCAA Division I history. Her teams averaged 25.6 wins per season and tallied eleven 30-win seasons. Under her leadership, the Bears made six NCAA Tournament appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2011 and 2022), won two regular-season MVC titles and six MVC Tournament crowns with a league-record 55 wins in the MVC Tournament. Hesse coached 59 first-team all-conference selections, 30 NFCA All-Region honorees and three Academic All-Americans. She compiled a 922-889-2 career record with notable wins over four programs that have won NCAA championships -- Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma and Arizona State. Ten of Hesse's former players have already been inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
JON LEAMY
Jon Leamy served as the head coach of Missouri State's men's soccer program for 30 seasons from 1992 to 2021 and racked up 309 victories in that span with a .606 career winning percentage. Leamy's teams won 10 MVC regular-season titles and three MVC Tournament titles during his tenure with six NCAA Tournament appearances (1997, 1999, 2009, 2019, 2020-21, 2021) and a memorable run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in the 2020-21 season. Leamy was named MVC Coach of the Year six times and was a four-time Midwest Region Coach of the Year. He produced 162 all-conference selections, 85 MVC scholar-athlete picks and a number of professional signees. He is the winningest soccer coach in MVC history with 121 league victories. During Leamy's career, the Bears were 309-189-66 overall while earning national rankings in eight different seasons. A native of Ipswich, Mass., Leamy is currently working on the Bears Fund staff at Missouri State.
 
BETH PERINE
Beth Perine served alongside head coach Holly Hesse as an assistant coach and associate head coach for 28 seasons from 1996 until her retirement in 2023. During her tenure, the Bears racked up 743 wins which included six Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles and six NCAA Tournament appearances. During her time as an associate head coach, she oversaw multiple aspects of the program, including duties as recruiting coordinator, academic oversight and community service efforts, while working primarily with the catchers, outfielders and serving as the third base coach. In 2023, her final season with the program, Perine helped lead Missouri State to its first-ever 20-win conference season, its first undefeated home season (15-0) and runner-up finish in the MVC regular season standings. Perine has remained with Missouri State Athletics as an academic counselor in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Academic Achievement Center.
 
TOM STRONG
Tom Strong's contributions to the Springfield community and Missouri State University have been well documented over the years. Likewise, his longtime support of Missouri State athletics makes him an ideal recipient of this year's Don Payton Award. Strong was a co-founder of the Papa Bears basketball booster club in 1969, serving as its president in 1974. He received Missouri State's Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1987 and earned the Bronze Bear Award from the university in 2006 for exhibiting "extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support." Strong served as president of MSU's Alumni Association from 1965-1966, was a member of the Missouri State University Board of Governors -- including a year as president in 1998 -- and is a past chair of the Missouri State University Foundation Board of Trustees. In 2002, Strong Hall on the Springfield campus was named in honor of his family.
 
Strong practiced law in Springfield from 1957 until his retirement in 2003, founding Strong Law, P.C. His many career accolades include service as the Governor of the American Trial Lawyers Association, a member of the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission, and chairman and committee member of many Missouri Bar Association committees. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Missourian Award, given to those who have made an outstanding contribution to their state or nation in civics, business, arts or politics. Notable recipients of this award include Thomas Hart Benton, General Omar Bradley, George Washington Carver, Walter Cronkite, Walt Disney, and President Harry Truman.