KWU Reveals 2024 Inductees Into Jerry Jones Athletic Hall of Fame

Kansas Wesleyan University will induct four individuals and three teams into the Jerry Jones Athletics Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2024, it was announced on Tuesday.The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 20, at 8 a.m. along with the university's alumni awards ceremony.

This year's inductees are football and track and field athlete Clint Brown '04, women's basketball player Stephanie (Frost) Nelson, men's basketball player Jason Gentz '98 and women's volleyball player Kolby (Rhoades) Melia '08. The 1992, 1993 and 1994 softball teams will also be inducted.

Brown '04 played four seasons of football and was also a thrower on the track and field team. A member of back-to-back conference champions, he was named the 2002 KCAC Defensive Player of the Year and was First Team All-KCAC in 2002 and 2003.

Nelson helped lead Kansas Wesleyan to two of the program's three straight NAIA Division II National Championship appearances and a KCAC Championship in 2011. A three-time all-KCAC selection (2010, 2011, 2012), she still ranks third all-time in scoring with 1,419 points and sixth in scoring average (11.4), along with many top-10 accolades.

Gentz '98 played just one season for the Coyotes (1995-96) but made a huge impact, becoming the first KCAC player to earn NAIA National Basketball Player of the Week honors. He was voted to the NAIA All-America Third Team and was a unanimous all-KCAC selection, setting a then-school record for scoring in a single season with 644 points.

Melia '08 was named to the 2006 NAIA All-Region IV First Team, leading the KCAC with 4.35 kills per game. The following year, she helped KWU win the KCAC with a 17-1 record and advance to the NAIA Region IV tournament. She currently ranks fifth all-time in career kills with 1,007.

The 1992, 1993 and 1994 softball teams coached by Kevin Blaskowski won the KCAC in '92 and '93 and finished second in '94, winning NAIA District 10 in '94. In 1992, Terri Clark was named NAIA All-America honorable mention and was the District 10 Player of the Year while Michele Villaire was the 1993 District 10 co-Player of the Year.

The Kansas Wesleyan Coyote Athletic Hall of Fame was started by former coach and Athletics Director Jerry Jones in 1986 as part of the university's centennial celebration. The inaugural class had 100 members to commemorate the milestone. In 2022, Kansas Wesleyan renamed it the Jerry Jones Kansas Wesleyan University Coyote Athletic Hall of Fame in Jones' honor.

Complete bios on each inductee are below.

2024 Hall of Fame Bios

Clint Brown '04 - Football

Clint Brown played four seasons of football for the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes and was also a member of the track and field teams as a thrower. He was named the 2002 KCAC Defensive Player of the Year leading the Coyotes to back-to-back conference championships in 2001 and 2002. He was First Team All-KCAC in 2002 and 2003. In 2001, he had 50 tackles and two interceptions. In 2002, Brown had eight interceptions and blocked seven kicks, along with four fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles while leading the team with 111 tackles. In 2003, he had 64 tackles with two interceptions and five pass break-ups, along with two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. He also excelled with the KWU track and field teams, earning all-KCAC honors in the shot put.

Stephanie (Frost) Nelson - Women's Basketball

Stephanie Frost was an outstanding player for the Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team. She helped lead the team to two of the program's three straight NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship appearances and a KCAC Championship in 2011. In 2010, she was named the KCAC Freshman of the Year while being named First Team All-KCAC and was on the All-KCAC All-Freshman and All-KCAC Defensive Teams. As a sophomore she was again named to the All-KCAC First Team, helping lead the team to a KCAC Tournament championship. In 2012, Frost was named First Team All-KCAC for a third straight season. At the time of her induction, Frost ranks third all-time in scoring with 1,419 points, sixth in scoring average at 11.4 points per game, third in field goals (564) and attempted field goals (1,248), second in field goal percentage (.452), eighth in free throws (253), second in rebounds (833), third in rebounding average, second in blocks (221), and blocks per game (1.8). She also ranks fourth all-time in games played with 124 and third in games started with 118.

Jason Gentz '98 - Men's Basketball

Jason Gentz spent only one year, his senior season, at KWU, in 1995-96. The Herington, Kan., native played junior college basketball at Neosho County (Kansas) Community College, leading the nation in 3-point scoring and was First Team NJCAA All-Jayhawk Conference selection. After a year at Central Oklahoma University, Gentz was sitting out a year, playing in the Abilene city league. He quickly turned KWU around from a 1-23 season to 14-14 and became the first KCAC player to earn NAIA National Basketball Player of the Week honors. He was Third Team NAIA All-America and unanimous All-KCAC. He set then-school records for single season scoring (644 points), senior class season scoring (644 points), season field goal attempts (526) and season 3-point scores (81). Gentz ranked third in season field goals (214) and fourth in season free throws made (135). He is a member of KWU 1990's Team of the Decade.

Kolby (Rhoades) Melia '08 - Volleyball

In 2006, Kolby Rhoades was named to the NAIA All-Region IV First Team. She also was named KCAC Player of the Year and First Team All-KCAC. She was named KCAC Player of the Week four consecutive weeks during KWU's 12-match winning streak. Rhoades led the KCAC in kills per game with a 4.35 average in her first season with the Coyotes. During the 2006 season, she became the first KWU player to go over 400 kills in a season since Jennifer Joy in 2002.

In 2007, Rhoades helped KWU win the KCAC with a 17-1 record and advance to the NAIA Region IV tournament.

She ranks fifth all-time in career kills with 1,007, is one of only five players in program history (since college volleyball switched to rally scoring in 2001) to have over 1,000 career kills, and ranks second in career kills per set at 4.44. She ranks seventh all-time in career points with 1,203. Her .240 career attack percentage ranks in the top 10 in KWU history. She has two of the top six performances in kills in a season and kills per set in a season. She holds the school record for attack attempts in a single season with 1,618 in 2007. She ranks third (651.5, 2007) and sixth (551.5, 2006) in single season points and second (5.43, 2007) and fourth (5.15, 2006) in single season points per set.

1992, 1993, 1994 Softball Teams

The 1992, 1993 and 1994 KWU softball teams coached by Kevin Blaskowski won the KCAC twice ('92, '93) and finished second in '94. The 1992 and 1993 teams were NAIA District 10 runners-up and in '94, won NAIA District 10, losing to Oklahoma City in bi-districts hosted by KWU. Several players earned honors for KWU at NAIA and KCAC level. In 1992, Terri Clark was NAIA Honorable Mention All-America and the 1992 District 10 Player of the Year. Michele Villaire was the 1993 District 10 co-Player of the Year.

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