North Florida Athletics Announces 2024 Hall of Fame Class
12/4/2023 3:00:00 PM | General
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a fall nomination & voting period, the University of North Florida Athletics Department is excited to announce its 2024 Hall of Fame class featuring five former UNF student-athletes, an influential family and a history-making team. The 2024 selections were made through the efforts of the UNF Athletics Hall of Fame Committee.
Joining the prestigious UNF Hall of Fame are Eden Meyer (cross country & track), Drew Weeks (baseball), Jack Findel-Hawkins (men's tennis), Donny Lotz (men's basketball), Lee McCool (baseball), John & Jim Delaney (former UNF president & donors) and the 2015-16 UNF women's golf program.
"The Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is full of incredible student-athletes and individuals who have impacted the UNF Athletics program," said director of athletics Nick Morrow. "I personally witnessed the incredible performances by many of the inductees and know how deserving they are of this honor. The Class of 2024 has left a lasting legacy at UNF and I cannot wait to celebrate them in January."
The UNF Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony and Reception will be at the Delaney Student Union from 6-9 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Additionally, the Class of 2024 inductees will be honored & recognized on Saturday, Jan. 20th, during the men's basketball game.
For more information on the Athletics Hall of Fame event, please contact a member of the Athletic Development Staff or email osprey.club@unf.edu.
Eden Meyer (UNF Women's Cross Country & Track - 2014-18)
Meyer etched her name as one of the most accomplished female athletes in the history of UNF athletics. She was a 14-time ASUN gold medalist with three other podium finishes and qualified three times for the NCAA Championships. She was also named the Atlantic Sun's Student-Athlete of the Year, followed by a nomination for the NCAA Woman of the Year, during her senior season in 2017-18.
The 16-time ASUN All-Conference qualifier, in both cross country and track, holds three school track records to her name with the program's top time for both indoor and outdoor 5,000m and the outdoor 10,000m race. She also is on top of the 3k, 5k and 6k top-times lists for cross country. She holds the top four spots in both the 5k and 6k races, while also being the only female Osprey to eclipse 17 minutes in the 5k and 20 minutes in the 6k.
The 2018 graduate produced seven ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year selections across all three sports during her career. She was also chosen at The Ozzies as a three-time UNF Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year selection, a two-time UNF Female Athlete of the Year and UNF Female Newcomer of the Year.
Drew Weeks (UNF Baseball - 2011-14)
A three-year player for North Florida, Weeks filled out the box score with a .345 career batting average, 119 runs, 203 hits, 32 doubles, eight triples, 15 homers and 30 stolen bases. In his junior year, he led the nation and set a new school single-season record with a .430 batting average. He also led the nation with 11 outfield assists, ranking in the top 25 in slugging percentage and total bases, while also recording another single-season record of 95 total hits for seventh-most in the country.
Weeks had one of the best singular seasons for an Osprey in program history, garnering many awards highlighted by an NCBWA First Team All-American selection in 2014. He also earned Baseball America, Rawlings ABCA and Perfect Game Second-Team All-American recognition on top of ASUN First Team All-Conference honors as a junior. The Golden Spikes Award and Gregg Olson Award honoree picked up two ASUN Player of the Week awards as well during his time with UNF.
After his time at North Florida, he was selected as a seventh-round pick in the MLB Amateur Draft by the Colorado Rockies in 2014. He was also previously drafted in the 29th round in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago Cubs.
Jack Findel-Hawkins (UNF Men's Tennis - 2013-17)
Four-time ASUN All-Conference First Team selection Jack Findel-Hawkins was one of the best players in the league year-in and year-out during his time at North Florida. His four All-ASUN selections and seven ASUN Player of the Week honors both set program records for the men's tennis team.
The Exmouth, Great Britain, native not only was ASUN Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, but was also nationally selected as a 2017 ITA & NCAA All-American after being the first and only qualifier in UNF history for the NCAA Men's Singles. After being invited three times for NCAA singles and double, he broke through as a senior advancing to the quarterfinals upsetting three straight opponents ranked above him.
Findel-Hawkins was ranked as high as fourth in the nation in doubles with Lasse Muscheites and closed out the year ranked 14th overall. The four-year player made an immediate impact early on with an ASUN Freshman of the Year honor in 2014 and finished his career ranked 44th among the nation's best in singles.
Donny Lotz (UNF Men's Basketball - 2001-05)
With 1,412 career points in 3,080 total minutes played, Donny Lotz was a staple of UNF men's basketball in the early 2000's. He started 103 of 104 games played and averaged 29.6 minutes per game with four straight seasons of 300-plus points. The four-year player was efficient from the floor shooting 48% (522-1087) from the field and 36.7% (121-330) from three-point range in his career.
Lotz sits among the best in program history when it comes to the record books, as he is top-three all time in field goals in UNF history. He also sits sixth overall in points scored and rebounds, followed by top-10 marks in points per game, steals, games started, minutes played and free throws made.
During his time with the team as a D-II student-athlete, Lotz earned the Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year during the 2001-02 season and finished his career as a two-time Second Team All-Peach Belt Conference honoree. He also was selected once during his sophomore season as the Peach Belt Conference's Player of the Week on Mar. 1, 2003.
Lee McCool (UNF Baseball - 1998-2000)
McCool is among the all-time greatest UNF baseball players in the D-II era after only playing two seasons with the team in 1999 and 2000. He earned a .347 career batting average (221-for-636) with 151 starts in 163 total games played. The two-year player racked up 166 runs, 221 hits, 50 doubles, six triples, 27 home runs, 162 RBI's and 66 walks to go along with a .416 on-base percentage and a 28-for-36 mark on stolen base attempts.
In terms of all-time career rankings in school history, McCool has his name in various categories sitting second in RBI's, tied for third in runs scored and fourth in total bases. He also is top-10 among all players in doubles, hits and batting average. His great numbers at UNF also expanded to the single-season rankings placing second in at bats and seventh in hits during the 1999 season, as well as a second-place mark in total bases, third in runs and tied for seventh in doubles during 2000.
Over his two seasons, he was a two-time First Team All-Peach Belt Conference selection, a two-time First Team All-Region selection and a Third Team NCAA Division II All-American selection. He also was selected to the South Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team in 2000 and was a Member of the 2000 NCAA D-II World Series team.
Delaney Family (John & Jim Delaney)
The Delaney family has been a staple at North Florida for over two decades as leaders who helped push the university to new heights. John Delaney served as UNF President for 15 years spanning from 2003-18, and made it possible for athletics' transition to the Division I level. He helped guide the university to admission and academic standard increases, vastly grew the building space during his tenure and helped establish six academic programs.
During his tenure, President Delaney helped the Ospreys capture 34 ASUN regular season and tournament championships from 2009-18. UNF claimed seven River City Rumble titles in yearly competitions against crosstown rival, Jacksonville, from 2005-18. The athletic department had 16 consecutive semesters with cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher during his term, while also overseeing additions of women's golf and beach volleyball as varsity programs.
Jim Delaney, father of John, was a North Florida Athletics booster and a long-time supporter of the program. He attended nearly all home events for most sports, traveled to away games, and often watched both men's and women's basketball practices. An endowment was established in Jim's honor which directly impacts student-athlete scholarships and experiences. He was a long-time Jacksonville resident with multiple generations of children and grandchildren that attended UNF and was the most frequent visitor to coaches and administrator's offices, happy to share a cup of coffee & a good story.
2015-16 UNF Women's Golf
The North Florida women's golf team, under head coach Joanne Berglund, in 2015-16 broke barriers with its first ASUN Championship title in program history after being implemented as a team in 2012. In just their fourth season, they earned its first-ever tournament win at the 2016 Amelia Island Collegiate, followed with the conference victory less than two months later. The squad also finished 11 strokes ahead of the second-place team at the ASUN Tournament.
At the ASUN Championship, the team had three of the top five finishers in the conference with Megan Wilshire and Mary Dawson tied for second, followed by Emelie Alpe in fourth. Dawson finished as an ASUN All-Tournament selection and a First Team All-ASUN selection, while Wilshire and Alpe earned Second Team All-ASUN status.
The team got it done on the course and in the classroom with three ASUN All-Academic selections as well with Alpe, Dawson and Wilshire also earning those recognitions. After it was all said and done, the Ospreys finished with nine combined ASUN Golfer of the Week honorees during the 2015-16 season to solidify themselves as one of the great women's golf teams in program history.
