The Blackburn College Athletics Department has announced the 2023 Class for the Blackburn College Athletics Hall of Fame. This years inductees include five individuals as well as the 2002 and 2004 Baseball Teams. The list of 2023 inductees is below.
Keith Luther
Keith was a 1979 graduate that played three seasons on the men's basketball team. He was the team's leading scorer all three seasons he played and was team captain, team MVP and an All Prairie College Conference team member. Keith averaged over 15 points per game during his career at Blackburn. Keith resides in Naperville, Illinois with his wife Kristen.
Kenneth Place
Ken is a 1991 graduate who enjoyed an outstanding baseball career at Blackburn. In 1990, Ken was named an all-american by the National Small College Athletic Association. Ken resides in Montgomery, Illinois with his wife Mary Jo.
Michael A. Smith
Michael was a 1990 graduate that was a four-year member of the cross country team along with three years on the track team and two years playing basketball. Michael was named the cross country team's MVP three years in 1988, 89, and 90. He was also named the track MVP in 1989. Michael was a four-time member of the All Prairie College Conference Team and was also named to the All St.Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Team in 1990. Michael now resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Grace Young
Grace is a 1991 graduate that was a member of the softball team at Blackburn. Grace was the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year twice, in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 she was named 2nd Team NCAA All-Region followed by being named 1st Team NCAA All-Region in 2011. In 2010 Grace hit .474 and followed that in 2011 by hitting .402. Grace currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.
Major Barnes
Major was a 1973 graduate of Blackburn and a member of the men's basketball team. Major is being inducted into the hall of fame posthumously. Major is the 16th leading scorer in Blackburn College history scoring 1243 points in just 73 games for an outstanding 17.02 average which is 4th all-time.
2002 Baseball Team
The first team in college history to win a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and first to appear in an NCAA Regional. The team was led by confererence player of the year and conference newcomer of the year Tony Etnier and had seven players named to the all-conference team. The team finished 27-15 overall and 17-4 in the conference and was nationally ranked in the Central Region. Joining Etnier on the conference first team were CJ Jones, Kenny Brown and Brandon Beal.
2004 Baseball Team
The only team in Blackburn history to win an NCAA Tournament game in any sport. The 2004 blew through the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 19-2 conference record after starting the season 1-13. Carl Heuer, Billy Puckett, Kyle Rensing, Jerad Pruitt were named first team all-conference while Mark Armes set an NCAA record by hitting four homeruns in a game against Westminster. Kyle Rensing was named the conference's newcomer of the year.
The 2003 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at 5:00 PM on the Blackburn campus in the Mahan Science Building Lobby on Saturday, September 30th.