Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Announced
Six Blue Devil greats and a championship team will be enshrined on October 31st
Six student-athletes and a championship team have been selected for induction into the Central Connecticut State University Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame it was announced Monday. The induction ceremony for the Class of 2024 will be held in Alumni Hall on the CCSU campus on Thursday, October 31, 2024, as a kickoff to Homecoming Weekend.
Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
This year's Hall of Fame class includes Olga Budasz '03 (swimming & diving), Nicole Dumpson-Jackson '05 (track and field), Laura Messina '15 (softball), Ron Robinson '04 (basketball) Mike Sciortino '90 (baseball), and Tracey Uellendahl '03 (lacrosse) as well as the 2007 men's soccer team.
"Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2024," said Director of Athletics Tom Pincince. "This is a talented group that boasts resumes full of individual accolades and awards and records; many that remain today. The induction ceremony, kicking off Homecoming Weekend, will be a celebration of those successes and I look forward to celebrating with the Blue Devils family."
Tickets for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will go on sale in September.
Budasz is one of the most decorated swimmers in CCSU and Northeast Conference history. She is a three-time NEC Outstanding Swimmer capturing that honor in 1999, 2000 and 2002 and was named ECAC Swimmer of the Year twice (1999, 2000). Budasz won a league-best 12 individual NEC Championships over her career, capturing the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles at four straight championships. She was undefeated in individual races in collegiate dual or championship competition. Budasz graduated with three individual school and NEC records and was the 2002 Gail Rutz Award winner.
Dumpson-Jackson finished her career as a Blue Devil student-athlete nearly two decades ago, but her name remains in the program's record book to this date. She is the school record holder in the outdoor 400m hurdles and the indoor 500m, as well as a member of the indoor 4x200 relay. She qualified for the NCAA East Regional, is a 10-time All-NEC Selection and a three-time All-New England Selection. She won individual gold three times in the NEC, capturing the 2001 indoor 400m, the 2003 indoor 500m and the 2003 outdoor 400m. She also found success at the national level, as a two-time semifinalist at the US National Championship/World Championship trials. The Blue Devils associate head coach for cross country and track & field, Dumpson-Jackson has coached the Blue Devils to 12 NEC Championships.
Messina ranks as one of the all-time pitching greats, not only at CCSU but within the Northeast Conference. She was named the NEC Pitcher of the Year in 2014 and led the Blue Devils to NEC Championships in 2013 and 2015. Messina remains the programs all-time leader in wins (101), strikeouts (997), ERA (1.71), shutouts (48), innings pitched (969.2), and complete games (131). She won 28 games, with 278 strikeouts, in 2015, both single-season program records and was named to the USA Softball Top 50 Watch List for Collegiate Player of the Year. Messina continues to boast the single-season records with 41 appearances, 37 complete games and 257.1 innings pitched in that championship campaign. She was named the Gail Rutz Award winner as a senior, the 2013 NEC Tournament MVP, a three-time All-NEC First Team selection and three-time All-NEC Tournament honoree.
Robinson is one of only five Blue Devils in school history to eclipse 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He remains fourth in program history, and in the NEC, in rebounds, with 1,022. Robinson scored 1,309 points which was 12th on the all-time list at CCSU when he graduated and remains the 17th most points scored by a Blue Devil. He was named the NEC Player of the Year in 2004 after averaging 18.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and shooting 48 percent shooting as he led the Blue Devils to the NEC Championship game as the seven-seed. Two years earlier, Robinson averaged a double-double in NEC Tournament play, 12.3 points and 12.0 rebounds, to earn All-Tournament Team accolades in helping CCSU to its second NEC Championship. He capped his career by being named the 2004 Frederick M. Gladstone Award winner.
Sciortino holds the distinction of being the first Blue Devil to earn All-America honors in baseball, being named to the Sporting News All-America team in 1990. That season he set the CCSU single-season record by hitting .457. That offensive prowess earned him All-Region, Player of the Year and made him a draft pick of the New York Met's. He was also a two-time All-Conference player while with the Blue Devils.
Uellendahl remains the most prolific scorer in CCSU lacrosse history, having found the back of the net 150 times during her career. She boasts the top three single-season goal tallies in program history, leading the NCAA in goals each of those campaigns, and topped by a 62-goal effort in 2003. A two-time All-NEC First Team selection, Uellendahl is second in CCSU history with 184 points, third with 145 ground balls and seventh with 34 assists. She also holds the program record for goals in a game, eight, and points in a game, nine, on three different occasions. Uellendahl is the first Blue Devil lacrosse player to be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2007 men's soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with upsets of #9 Tulsa and #15 Harvard in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils secured the fourth seed in the NEC Tournament and went on to capture the crown with wins over top-seeded Monmouth, and second-seed Saint Francis U. David Tyrie served as the backbone of the Blue Devils efforts, earning NEC Defensive Player of the Year and NEC Tournament MVP accolades. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Paul Armstrong, Robert Cavener, and Andrew Cooper
The CCSU Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes and honors outstanding former CCSU student-athletes for their contributions and achievements in athletics. Nominees, in general, must be of good character and worthy of the award, and individuals, who, through their actions, have shown support for the ideals of the University. Nominees shall have represented CCSU in a positive manner both on and off the playing arena. Including the Class of 2024, there are 173 members of the CCSU Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame, and six teams.