Catawba College announces 2023 athletic hall of fame class

A memorable announcement came last week for a group of former Catawba College student-athletes.

The university announced Wednesday the names of eight former students that will be inducted into the Catawba College Hall of Fame along with two honorary inductees.

Kelsey Babos ‘10 (women’s golf), Lakai Brice ‘01 (women’s basketball), Kevin Brown ‘98 and Matt Gross ‘02 (football), James “Jimbo” Davis ‘06 and Jerry Sands (baseball), Mike Feller ‘96 (men’s basketball), and Melissa Powers ‘09 (volleyball) will be honored for their careers at the University.

Kelsey Babos is known as one of the most successful women’s golfers in Catawba College history.

She became the first and only women’s golfer to date to reach the Division II National Tournament in 2009.

She also holds program records for 36 and 72-hole tournaments, earned NGCA All-America honorable mention and All-Region honors as well as an all-conference selection in each of her four years with three appearances on the First Team as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Lakai Brice is known as one of the greatest defenders in Catawba’s women’s basketball history.

Brice holds the record for most career steals (324), set the program record for the most steals in a single game, and ranks tenth all time in career points.

Kevin Brown was a four-year quarterback for the university from 1994-1997.

Brown led his team to SAC title and was a part of Catawba’s only win to date over the top ranked team in the country with a 17-3 win over Carson-Newman.

He also ranks fifth in program history in total offense, gaining 5,933 yards and sixth with 4,807 career passing yards.

Brown holds the distinction as the first player in Catawba football history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in his career.

James “Jimbo” Davis and Jerry Sands are being honored for their well-respected careers in baseball.

Davis was a 3-time All-Region First Team selection and 3-time First Team All-SAC honoree.

He also earned ABCA First Team and NCBWA Second Team All-American honors after hitting a whopping .380 with 17 homers and 65 RBI’s.

Jerry Sands was a three-year standout on the baseball field for Catawba from 2006-2008, before enjoying a 14-year professional career.

After being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 MLB Draft he went on to play 156 games in five seasons with the Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox.

Sands holds the Catawba career program records with 61 home runs and 132 walks while leading Catawba to two SAC regular season titles, two NCAA Regional appearances, and a then-program record 43 wins in 2008.

Mike Feller was a key part of Catawba basketball from 1992-1996.

Feller was a 1995-96 SAC regular season championship while earning the league’s Player of the Year award. He also averaged 18.2 points and six rebounds per game in his senior season on 52 percent shooting from the field and 85 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Feller ranks 14th in program history with 1,484 career points.

Matt Gross is remembered as one of the most successful place kickers in Catawba football history.

Gross holds program records with 55 career field goals and 311 career points, earning Consensus All-American honors as a senior including Second Team honors from the Associated Press.

Gross was all-conference three separate times in his career, receiving a First Team selection as a senior.

While on the team, Catawba set school records with 23 consecutive regular season wins, 16 consecutive SAC wins and 14 straight home victories.

Melissa Powers is remembered as one of the most prolific volleyball players in Catawba volleyball history.

She earned the 2008-09 SAC Female Athlete of the Year award and holds program-records with 37 kills in a single match, 674 kills in a single season, 1,884 career kills and a .326 career hitting percentage.

Powers also was a 3-time All-SAC First Team selection and was named to the 2007 All-SAC Tournament team.

The eight athletes will be honored for their exceptional athletic careers at the University and Lewis and Rendleman for their involvement and commitment to the university in their perspective fields as Service Award Honorary inductees.

Since he was a freshman Jim Lewis has been involved with the sports information department at Catawba College.

Lewis oversaw the publicity of each of Catawba’s athletic teams and the department as a whole.

He was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in 2009 and again as Athletic Director in 2015.

Patsy Rendleman has been a pioneer in women’s golf in North Carolina for over 50 years.

The 20-time club champion, 6-time member of the Carolina’s Golf Team, and qualifier of the 1955 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship spent her time supporting the Catawba College Golf programs following her playing days.

Rendleman also started the First tee Program in Salisbury and has continued to support Catawba golf programs both financially and through hands-on encouragement.

Catawba’s Women’s Golf annual home event in the fall has since been renamed The Patsy Rendleman Invitational.

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 7 prior to Catawba football’s home matchup with Wingate University.

The induction ceremony, sponsored by the Catawba College Chiefs Club, will be held in Peeler Crystal Lounge and Keppel Auditorium from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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