MOBILE, Ala. – Honors collected by the five members of the University of South Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2016 include All-America, the President's Award — presented to the school's most outstanding student-athlete dating back to 1966 — all-region and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.
Those were just some of the accomplishments of the quintet of Demetric Bennett, Jeff Campbell, Mark Hoffman, Pete Klear and Marei Lirette, who were announced Monday as selections for induction in the fall. The ceremony will take place on campus on Saturday, Oct. 1, with the group recognized that day at halftime of the Jaguars' football game against San Diego State as well. With their induction, a total of 76 former student-athletes, coaches and administrators will have earned the honor since the creation of the USA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
Klear, a four-year letterwinner in men's tennis from 1967-70, was presented the Frederick P. Whiddon Award (as the Jaguar Student-Athlete of the Year Award was then known) in 1969 and served as team captain each of his last two years. Playing at primarily the No. 1 position, he finished with a career mark of 56-16 while helping the Jags to a 38-20 record in dual matches during that time. As a senior, Klear helped South finish 21-2 as a team — including wins over Alabama, Auburn, Southern Mississippi and Tulane — to qualify for the NCAA Championship, where the Jaguars would come in 20th place as he accounted for two of four points with a second-round singles victory.
One of only two individuals in the baseball team's history to throw a no-hitter, Hoffman also remains the school's all-time leader with a 2.26 earned-run average and is among the top 15 with 193 strikeouts as well after earning four letters from 1970-73. As a sophomore, he helped the program become the first in school history to reach No. 1 in the national polls with a team-best 1.71 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched; the Jaguars would end the season 36-8 after making their first-ever NCAA postseason appearance. Hoffman earned first-team all-region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association his junior season, going 10-2 with a 1.78 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 91.1 innings — pacing the squad in both victories and strikeouts — as USA finished 33-9 after returning to the district tournament.
The only player in school history to be named the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, accomplishing the feat in 1988, Lirette lettered two seasons for the Jaguars after transferring from Louisiana State. That fall, she paced South with 410 kills and 554 digs — Lirette remains one of just seven individuals in the program's record books to record 300-plus kills and digs in the same season — to also be voted first-team all-league, then was named to the all-Sun Belt Tournament team after helping the Jags go 2-2 at the event. In addition to still ranking among the top 10 on USA's season record list in both categories with her performance as a junior, Lirette also stands 10th in program history with 855 career digs.
Campbell — a two-year letterwinner in cross country who lettered three times in track and field for the Jags — became the first individual in program history to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship, where he would come in 32nd place to earn All-America honors. He helped South claim a pair of Sun Belt cross country titles with runner-up finishes at the league meet, and he added a pair of individual victories at Sun Belt track championships while recording all-conference honors six times; as a junior Campbell won the indoor 5,000 meters, while the following spring he was champion at that distance at the SBC Outdoor Championship. For his efforts, Campbell was named to the league's 30th Anniversary All-Time Men's Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams.
A two-time first-team all-Sun Belt selection, Bennett still remains among the top 10 in the men's basketball program's record books in four statistical categories including points scored (seventh, 1,405), three-point field goals (second, 208), three-point field-goal percentage (fourth, 41.6%) and steals (eighth, 124). As a senior during the 2007-08 campaign, he led the Jaguars in scoring with 19.7 points per game as well as with 42 steals and 90 three-pointers while helping USA to a school-record 26 wins, an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and the SBC East Division championship; he was selected to the league's all-tournament team that year as well. A three-year letterwinner, Bennett also paced the Jags in scoring (15.5 ppg), steals (53), three-point field goals (81) and three-point field-goal percentage (43.5%) his junior season to help the program earn a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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