FLORENCE, Ala. (September 27, 2023) – The 34th class of inductees for the University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame has been selected and will be inducted on Saturday, September 30, as part of UNA's Homecoming celebration.
The event is free of charge and open to the public beginning at 9 a.m. inside the Guillot University Center (GUC) Performance Hall on campus.
The UNA Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 includes former baseball player and football All-American Will Batson, All-American baseball pitcher Trey Mitchell, national championship volleyball coach Matt Peck, national soccer player of the year Chloe Roberts, a four-time volleyball conference champion Pasola Swoope Jackson and the Lions' all-time basketball assist leader, Luther Tiggs.
Following its creation in 1990, the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame has inducted at least four members each year. This year's induction brings the total number of inductees into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame to 161.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will lead into UNA's Homecoming game later in the evening against Eastern Kentucky University at 6 p.m. inside Braly Stadium. Fans are encouraged to wear gold as part of the Homecoming "Gold Rush" theme.
WILL BATSON
(Baseball 2007, Football 2006-09)
Will Batson pitched for the North Alabama baseball team for one season, in 2007, but really made his mark with the Lions as a kicker and punter on UNA football teams from 2006-09.
The Killen, Ala., native, has gone on to a successful career as a political consultant in Washington, D.C. On the baseball diamond, Batson made six appearances with four starts for the UNA baseball team as a freshman and had a 4.38 ERA over 12.1 innings pitched.
On the football field, Batson was a four-year letterman and three-year starter who became a two-time All-American. After punting just once as a freshman in 2006, he took over as a starter in 2007 and would eventually close his career with 141 punts for a 40.8 average. As a sophomore he averaged 39.0 yards on 30 punts would average 41.2 as a junior, earning first-team All-American honors by the American Football Coaches Association, second-team by Daktronics, third-team by the Associated Press, and honorable mention by the Football Gazette, and D2football.com. He was selected second-team All-Gulf South Conference, first-team Daktronics All-Super Region 2 and second-team Football Gazette All-Super Region 2. He had 13 punts of over 50 yards and had 14 punts downed inside the opposing team's 20-yard line in 2008. As a senior in 2009 he was again a first-team All-American pick by Daktronics and D2Football.com , and a third-team selection by the Associated Press. He was a first-team All-Region pick by Daktronics and second-team by Football Gazette. He earned first-team All-GSC honors as well as Academic All-GSC, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV and ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-America®. He punted 57 times for a 41.6 average and a long of 70 yards.
UNA went 44-7 in Batson's four years on the football team and advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs four straight times. They rank as the third winningest senior class in school history. That group was also one of just two senior classes to win at least 10 games in all four seasons of their collective careers.
Following his graduation from UNA in 2010 with a B.B.A in Economics and Finance, he had NFL opportunities with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. He also performed stunt work for kicking scenes in movies such as Woodlawn and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. At the time of his induction, Batson had worked in Washington, D.C. since 2015, initially serving as a legislative clerk for the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. From 2017-19 he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Luther Strange of Alabama. He then served as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, where he assisted with energy, environment, transportation, and agriculture issues. He is currently a consultant working with the National Republican Congressional Committee. In 2019, he earned an MBA from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
TREY MITCHELL
(Baseball 2008-11)
A Florence, Alabama native, Trey Mitchell pitched for Lion baseball teams from 2008-11 and earned numerous awards on and off the baseball field. He set a school record with 12 wins in the 2011 season (12-2) and had a career mark of 23-10 to rank third at school in career wins.
Mitchell threw a no-hitter against West Florida on March 20, 2010, which is one of just six no-hitters in UNA baseball history, and is the only one ever thrown on the road.
He was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference and All-South Region honoree, as well as a 2011 All-American. He ranks fourth in career strikeouts at UNA (207) and fourth in career innings pitched (256.2).
The Lions won 127 games during his four-year career, including a 37-14 record his senior year that culminated with two wins in the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament.
He was the recipient of the 2011 Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophy as the top male student-athlete in the league. Mitchell graduated from UNA in 2011 with a degree in Geographic Information Science. He and wife Ashley live in Florence where he is the College and Young Adult Minister at Underwood Baptist Church.
MATT PECK
(Volleyball Coach 1995-2003)
Hired as head volleyball coach at UNA in 1995, Matt Peck led the Lions for nine years and took the UNA program to the highest national level. UNA made eight straight NCAA appearances, had four trips to the Elite Eight, played in two Final Fours and won the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championship. It was the first national championship for a women's sport in UNA athletic history.
He compiled a 312-61 overall record at UNA and a 112-10 record in the Gulf South Conference. After going 5-7 in league play his first season, Peck was 107-3 in GSC play the next eight years, including five undefeated seasons in GSC matches. He was selected GSC Coach of the Year in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000, was AVCA South Central Region Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2003, and was AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2003. In 1996 Peck led the Lions to a 44-4 record that included the school's seventh GSC championship and the first ever NCAA Tournament appearance by a school from the state of Alabama. In 1997 Ronda Price and Mariela Fasce were named second-team AVCA All-Americans to become the school's first volleyball All-Americans. In addition, Price was a second-team CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America selection, making her the first athlete in school history to earn both All-America and Academic All-America honors. As a team, UNA claimed its second consecutive GSC Tournament title and earned its second NCAA Regional bid as well.
North Alabama became the first school in GSC history to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 1998. The Lions claimed their third straight GSC title and first-ever NCAA regional championship. Also Mariela Fasce became the first volleyball player in conference history to be selected first-team All-American.
In 1999, UNA went 35-7, won its fourth straight GSC title and made its fourth straight NCAA appearance, advancing to the Elite Eight for a second time. Lana Fishback, Deja Trojan, Rachel Price and Ronda Price were members of four consecutive GSC championships, four straight NCAA Tournament berths and earned two straight trips to the NCAA Elite Eight by winning two NCAA South Central Regional championships. From 1996-1999 the "Fab Four" compiled a record of 156-22 and 47-1 in the GSC. In 2000, UNA went 40-3, won a fifth straight GSC title, made a fifth straight NCAA trip and reached the Division II Final Four for the first time. Ashley Moffitt and Nesrin Seckin earned All-American honors in both 2000 and 2001.
In 2002, UNA won an unprecedented seventh straight GSC title and 13th overall volleyball crown. Sandra Alexander set an all-time NCAA Division II record for career hitting percentage and Anna Bondarenko and Yana Ninova were named All-American. In 2003 UNA failed to win the GSC title for the first time in eight years, losing in the championship match. But that loss propelled the Lions to even greater heights as UNA rolled through the NCAA South Central Regional, the Elite Eight and Final Four to win the first national championship ever claimed by a UNA women's athletic team. Setter Ashley Moffitt was named All-American for the third time, led the nation in assists and set two Division II national records. Ninova was also named All-American again in 2003 and helped lead UNA to a 33-7 record. UNA defeated Concordia-St. Paul 3-0 in the finals to clinch the championship at San Bernardino, Calif.
Seven of Peck's former players were previously inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame in Rachel Price, Ronda Price, Nesrin Seckin, Yana Ninova, Mariella Fasce, Ashley Moffitt and Vanessa Ferretti.
CHLOE ROBERTS
(Soccer 2009-12)
One of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the UNA Athletic program, Chloe Roberts played soccer for the Lions from 2009-12, and not only scored a school-record 93 career goals, but is also tied for the career assist record with 51. She was a four-time, first-team All-Gulf South Conference pick, four-time All-South Region and UNA's only four-time All-American in any sport.
In 2009 she was selected Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year when she scored a program record 32 goals in her freshman season and tallied a single-season program record 79 points. In addition to having 32 goals and 15 assists as a freshman, she scored 28 goals with 11 assists as a sophomore, 16 goals with 15 assists as a junior and 17 goals with 10 assists as a senior. She also set a school career record with 237 total points. She was named GSC Player of the Year and NCAA Division II National Player of the Year in 2011. She was later named GSC Player of the Decade by the league in 2020.
Roberts graduated from North Alabama in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Fitness Management and went on to get her Master's degree in Exercise Science from University of Nebraska Kearney in 2016. A native of Plymouth, England, Roberts spent eight years on the coaching staff with the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. She was a graduate assistant from 2014 to 2016, an assistant coach in the fall of 2016, and was then elevated to the head coach from 2017 to 2021. During the time Roberts was the head coach, the Lopers set records in save percentage (.892) and goals against average (0.87) in 2019.
She joined the Marshall University women's soccer staff in February of 2022 as an assistant coach. Prior to her coaching career, Roberts was involved in the U15-U23 England youth set up where she attended training camps and competed in multiple games. Roberts also holds a USSF E and D coaching license.
PASOLA SWOOPE (JACKSON)
(Volleyball 1985-88)
A member of four straight Gulf South Conference championship volleyball teams at UNA from 1985-88, Pasaola (Pat) Swoope Jackson played on teams with a combined 111-50 record at UNA and defeated Jacksonville State in the championship match of the GSC tournament all four years of her career. She was selected first-team All-GSC in 1987, All-GSC Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1988, GSC Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and All-South Region in 1987.
Her teams at UNA had records of 36-11, 23-19, 22-13 and 30-7. A 1990 North Alabama graduate with a bachelor's degree in marketing and business administration, she went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration - Project Management from UNA in 2020. In fact, Pat, her husband Greg and son Chandler are all UNA graduates, and she and her husband also both hold Master's degrees from UNA.
In 1999 she accepted a position with the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce. In her two years as a sales representative, her performance far surpassed anyone who had ever filled the position previously. She was then named Director of Membership in 2001. She then moved to the Huntsville Hospital Health System in 2004. Pat has since been a long-time Director of Customer Service with Huntsville Hospital Health System, a multi-hospital system that employs 15,000 staff members across the Tennessee Valley. Her title recently changed to Director of Patient Experience and Advocacy. Her responsibility, since 2004, has been to lead, develop and implement a comprehensive service excellence program for the Health System.
LUTHER TIGGS
(Basketball 1986-88)
A three-year starter at guard for UNA men's basketball teams from 1986-88, Luther Tiggs set school records for most assists in a game (19), season (250) and career (486). He also has the highest free throw percentage in a career at 85.9 and ranked 10th in Division II in free throw percentage as a senior in 1988 at 86.7. Tiggs helped lead the Lions to a Gulf South Conference Tournament title in 1988 and into the NCAA Division II South Regional.
After UNA posted records of 18-9 and 18-10 his first two seasons, the 1987-88 Lions earned the last spot in the GSC Tournament but proceeded to upset top seed UT-Martin in the opening game, then knocked off Troy 79-75 to claim the GSC Championship. The Lions then earned a spot in the NCAA Division II South Regional, where they finished third with a win over Norfolk State.
For his career, Tiggs played in 83 games with 63 starts. He scored 694 total points and had 216 rebounds, 104 steals, eight blocked shots and 486 assists. He was 193-of-404 from the floor (47.7 pct), 250-of-291 from the free throw line (85.9 pct) and 34-of-79 on three-point baskets (43.0 pct). He averaged 8.3 points per game.
A native of Russellville, Ala., he is a 1988 UNA graduate with a B.S. in Education. He earned a Masters of Arts in Education from UNA in 1995 and added a Masters of Arts in Education/Instructional Leadership in 2011.
Recently retired after a lengthy career as a successful high school basketball coach and teacher, he spent four seasons at Buckhorn, 10 at Sparkman, two at James Clemens and the last seven at Bob Jones. He won an area championship at Buckhorn and five area titles and reached four Elite Eights at Sparkman. He led Sparkman to a Final Four appearance in 2004-05 and to a 32-4 record in 2005-06. In call, Tiggs had a 427-248 record as a high school head basketball coach in 22 seasons, and had a combined 33 years in teaching and coaching. In addition, for the last 25 years he has served on the committee to select the participants in the Alabama All-Star Game. He and his wife Sylvia have two children, Adrian and Jordan.
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